Rooted plantlets (with more than 3 roots and average root length exceeding 10 mm) were removed from the culture flasks, carefully pulled out of the medium and then transplanted to plastic pots containing a mixture of turf soil + garden soil + sand (2:2:1; v/v/v) kept in a growth chamber and maintained at 19°C and 70% humidity under a 14 h photoperiod. After 2 weeks they were transferred from the pots to the greenhouse for further growth for 2 weeks and irrigated with tap water every 4 days.