The plant tissue laboratory at Boulevarde Nurseries was established in 1997 as a means of rapidly multiplying plants, especially grapevines and ornamentals. While rapid multiplication remains a major part of the laboratory's work, it also forms an integral part of the Boulevarde system by providing support with genetic engineering, virus elimination processes, plant breeding and maintenance of germplasm banks. Zantedeschia, the hybrid Calla Lily, is now the laboratory's biggest line along with grapevines and a range of other ornamentals, including Hosta, Syngonium, Spathyphyllum, Begonia, ferns, etc. Micro propagation of Zantedeschia allows a five-fold multiplication every month, which is a big advantage when bulking up material for which there is an escalating world market. Traditional propagation, by division of field-grown plants, yields five new plants a year. The laboratory produces about 60,000 grapevines each year mainly for propagation purposes. New varieties, high health status mother stock and special clones for clients are rapidly multiplied and the progeny provides nuclear stocks for traditional propagation. Micro propagation is particularly useful for the rapid multiplication of new material released from quarantine.