In the past, it required three to five years of careful greenhouse work to breed a plant with desirable characteristics. Now researchers have developed several methods of growing exact copies of plants, in other words, of growing plants without seeds. Most of us think that all plants grow from seeds. But even in your own back yard, you can find examples of plants that reproduce in other ways. Strawberries reproduce by sending out runners, poplar trees send out root-like suckers and potatoes grow from underground tubers.
Plants also have axillary buds along the sides of their stems which are usually dormant.
They become, in effect, new apical buds. Micropropagation involves treating plants with the same hormone that stimulates the axillary buds into growth. These new plants can in turn be treated, more cuttings taken, and so on. In this way, thousands of copies of a plant can be produced in a short time. For example, if a plant breeder developed a new rose, enough plants could be created in a single season to bring it to market right away.