The long-term storage and maintenance of viable plant cells and organs is an area of active concern across the range of pure and applied plant sciences. In academic, government and commercial laboratories, the extended storage of propagules of one sort or another, with maximum protection of the genome from mutation and altered expression, is often a very necessary activity that can draw heavily on resources and effort. However, preservation per se is typically not an activity in its own right, but a facilitating technology that is part of a larger programme of work. Consequently, there are many laboratories that do not have the benefit of a specialist in storage technology, and have to delegate the responsibility to individuals, or teams, who are faced with a daunting learning curve. To maximise the chances of success, in the shortest possible time and with minimum losses, these researchers need sources of reference that are au­ thoritative and soundly based in practical experience.