Questions growers and collectors ask us most.

Yes. Suiwerkweek is a plant tissue culture lab based in Centurion, Gauteng, and we ship nationwide by courier. South Africa's growing regions vary enormously — the winter-rainfall, Mediterranean climate around Cape Town, the summer-rainfall Highveld around Pretoria, the humid, frost-free lowveld of Mpumalanga, and the subtropical coast at Durban. Tissue-cultured plantlets start life identically in our sterile lab no matter where they're headed; what changes is the acclimatisation window we recommend once they arrive, since hardening off in Durban's humidity is not the same as hardening off in a dry Pretoria winter. We tailor that guidance to your region with every order.

Both. Farmers and nurseries use tissue culture to get disease-free, true-to-type stock at scale — berries, indigenous restoration species, and other crops where uniform yield across a whole planting matters more than novelty. Hobbyists and collectors use the same technique to multiply and preserve rare or hard-to-source plants — carnivorous species like Drosera and Nepenthes, variegated aroids like Philodendron, and aquatic plants for planted tanks. The species we work on change with demand, but those two use cases — production-grade uniformity for growers, and genetic preservation or multiplication for collectors — cover most of what comes through the lab.

Three things. First, it is genetically identical to the mother — no variation. Second, it has never been exposed to soil pathogens, so it carries no detectable surface contamination at the point of dispatch. Third, the process scales — one mother plant can produce hundreds or thousands of identical plants in a year, far more than cuttings could ever deliver.

Yes. Tissue culture produces clonal plants — exact genetic copies of the mother plant you provided. The cultured plants will carry the same traits: leaf shape, flower colour, yield characteristics, growth habit. If you have selected a winner, the field will be full of winners.

Most plants, but not all — and some are much harder than others. Plants with reliable, documented protocols (most carnivorous plants, many ornamentals, aquatic plants, indigenous species) are routine. Plants without established protocols need a development phase first. We will tell you honestly whether your species is straightforward, challenging, or beyond our current capability.

We propagate only open varieties or material for which you hold a valid licence or written authorisation from the breeder. Many well-known blueberry, strawberry, protea and ornamental cultivars are protected under Plant Breeders' Rights. If you are unsure of the status of a variety, ask — we will help you check before any work begins.

For species already in our active rotation: 6 to 10 weeks from order to dispatch. For new species with a known protocol: 10 to 16 weeks. For fully custom protocol development on a species we have not worked with before: 3 to 6 months before the first commercial batch can ship. After that, repeat batches follow at 4 to 6 week intervals. These timelines do not include hardening time if you have opted for ex vitro delivery — add 4 to 6 weeks for that.

For collector plants and aquatic TC cups we sell by the flask or cup — no fixed minimum. For hardened ex vitro plants the minimum is 20 plants per order. For commercial propagation contracts the minimum delivery is 50 plants per species. If your needs don't fit neatly into these tiers, WhatsApp us — we would rather work something out than turn away a genuine project.

Yes. We ship plantlets across South Africa via courier in protective packaging. Shipping is quoted separately at time of order and depends on destination and order size. We do not currently ship internationally.

Tissue-cultured plants have been raised in 100% humidity inside a sterile vessel — they need to be gradually weaned to ambient conditions. We provide acclimatisation guidance with every order, and recommend a sheltered, high-humidity period of two to six weeks (depending on the species) before plants enter the open field or tunnel. Hardening is the most common reason TC plants are lost; doing it properly costs nothing and changes outcomes completely.

Yes. This is one of our core services. We establish a culture from your mother stock and hold it in slow-growth conditions as a living backup. We do not propagate or sell from preserved stock without your written instruction. This is appropriate for rare cultivars, family heirlooms, breeding lines, and irreplaceable genetic material.

Pricing depends on the species, delivery tier (in vitro unrooted, in vitro rooted, or hardened ex vitro), and whether protocol development is required. The best way to get a real number is to WhatsApp us with your species and target volume — we will reply with a quote within one working day.

Workshops are not yet scheduled, but we welcome serious enquiries from prospective growers or research groups. If you are interested in learning the technique, send a message — we will let you know when sessions become available.

"TC" is just industry shorthand for tissue culture — you'll see it on this site for cups, cultures and plantlets. "TC contracting" is when you supply the mother plant or the spec and we run the propagation program for you under contract: protocol development if it's needed, scheduled batches, and delivery on agreed volumes. It's the same work as our commercial propagation service — just the term some growers use for it.

Yes. The lab is based in Centurion, Gauteng, but the work travels — we ship tissue-cultured plantlets by courier nationwide and take on propagation and TC contracting projects for growers across South Africa, North West included. Distance from the lab has never stopped a project; courier logistics has never been the limiting factor.