First plant and explant workflow

Create a plant record

Go to Dashboard → Plants and click New Plant. Give it a name (e.g. "Begonia rex — Batch A"), choose a species, and optionally add a photo. The plant record is the permanent parent — it stays in your library even after all its explants are discarded.

Tip: Use a consistent naming convention from the start: species + cultivar + batch or date. It pays off once you have dozens of plants.

Add an explant

Open the plant detail page and click Add Explant. Each explant represents one piece of tissue or one culture container taken from the parent. Give it a label like "Shoot tip 1" or "Node A". The label appears everywhere the explant is referenced.

Tip: Add one explant per vessel group or tissue source. This lets you track each culture's history independently.

Record the first stage

When you create the explant you'll be prompted to set its initial stage — typically Explant Initiation. Enter the stage date, any observation notes, and the room or bench location if you use lab rooms. This is the first entry in the explant's stage history.

Tip: Stage notes are the most valuable thing you can capture. Even one line — "Good initiation, no browning" — is worth more than nothing.

Move to the next stage

When the culture is ready to subculture or transfer, open the explant detail, click Add Stage, and select the next stage (e.g. Multiplication). Enter the date, your observations, and any media context. The explant's timeline builds automatically.

Tip: You can attach a media recipe and an SOP to each stage entry. This turns your stage history into a reproducible protocol record.

Record a transfer

Use Transfers when you split, move, or consolidate culture material. A transfer links a source explant to a destination stage, timestamps it, and carries any notes you add at the bench. You can record a transfer from the explant detail or from the Transfers section in the dashboard.

Tip: Transfers are optional but powerful. If you only want stage history, adding stages directly to an explant is enough.

Review and track progress

The Dashboard overview shows all active cultures, stage distribution, and any contamination alerts. Use search and filters to find plants or explants by name, species, stage, or label. The stage history on each explant is permanent — it doesn't get overwritten when you advance to a new stage.