Moderplanten

Moderplanten is a term used in Dutch horticulture to denote plants kept primarily for propagation. The more common term is moederplanten, or mother plants in English; moderplanten may appear as a variant spelling in some sources. These plants serve as the genetic source for cuttings, explants, or other propagation methods, allowing the production of many uniform offspring that share the same characteristics as the parent.

In practice, moderplanten are used in nurseries, botanical gardens, floriculture, and breeding programs to preserve desirable traits such as growth habit, flowering, fruit quality, or disease resistance. By taking vegetative cuttings from a healthy, vigorous specimen, growers can rapidly scale up production while maintaining genetic fidelity.

Maintenance and care are central to effective moderplanten programs. They are cultivated under controlled conditions with appropriate light, temperature, humidity, and nutrition to promote steady growth and vigor. Regular pruning helps maintain a robust, uniform canopy and provides a steady supply of viable cuttings. Health monitoring for pests and diseases is essential, because problems in mother plants can be transmitted to propagated stock.

Propagation methods associated with moderplanten include cuttings, air layering, and, in some sectors, tissue culture to multiply stock while preserving uniformity. Rotating stock and periodically replacing older mother plants helps mitigate age-related declines in performance and maintains a reliable source of high-quality propagation material. See also plant propagation, cloning, and tissue culture.