New micropropagation lab is the ‘missing part of the picture’ for the National Trust’s pioneering Plant Conservation Centre

The lab is located at the Trust’s Plant Conservation Centre (PCC) in Devon, a purpose-built facility using specialist propagation skills to conserve rare and historically important plants for National Trust gardens. It has made headlines in recent years for its successful propagation of seeds gathered in the aftermath of the illegal felling of the Sycamore Gap tree in 2023. The project was made possible thanks to the generous support of Blue Diamond Garden Centres.

The centre’s micropropagation work was previously done by Duchy College at Rosewarne in Cornwall. It began working with the Trust over 20 years ago, when a Phytophthora outbreak prompted the Trust to source a lab that could work with infected material.

Plant Conservation Centre Manager Chris Trimmer said: “A micropropagation specialist at the college, Ros Smith, pioneered the propagation of Rhododendrons using dormant flower buds, instead of traditional growth buds. This dormant material is ‘clean’ in its sealed bud, meaning less chance of it being infected. Due to the wealth of experience she gained in this role, we’ve been lucky enough to work with Ros on creating our new lab, which consists of a growth room, main lab and clean room. Here, plant material can be prepared, multiplied, rooted and weaned in a process that is up to 10 times speedier than alternative propagation techniques.”

Chris continued: “To ensure success, the environment must be sterile and techniques followed meticulously all the way through. Ros’s advice and support has been instrumental in how we have set up and run the lab. We're also very lucky to have the continued support of her successor Naomi Beddoe who now helps us as a mentor.

“Since the PCC opened in 1982 it has conserved thousands of genera – all peat-free – to safeguard precious plants and their stories. But micropropagation capacity has always been a missing part of the picture for us. We now have complete control over the process from end to end, including cost and time, and it unlocks the chance to try micropropagation on different plants.”

Propagator Darryl Beck is already trialling micropropagation techniques on rare Narcissus and Paeonia from Hidcote, Major Lawrence Johnston’s renowned Arts and Crafts-inspired garden. The aim is to reintroduce young, vigorous plants back into Hidcote to maintain its historic planting schemes.

The new lab also brings greater security. In the last decade a number of micropropagation facilities have closed, including the one at Duchy College, due to it being a labour intensive, and therefore expensive, process.

Chris continued: “The potential here is enormous. With the right protocols and nutrients, you can produce any number of plants. We could ‘bank’ different species of plants for future use, such as the rare native black poplar, which we are propagating and distributing to key sites to aid its conservation.”

The first batch of plants fully micropropagated at the PCC will be azaleas from the Azalea Grove in Gertrude Jekyll’s garden, Munstead Wood in Surrey. The grove is home to more than 240 azaleas planted by Jekyll herself around 1880, making them some of the garden’s only surviving plants from her lifetime. Micropropagating them will enable the Trust to replace any plants that die or are damaged by disease, safeguarding her extraordinary horticultural legacy.