The purpose of the presented study was to determine the best mineral composition of media and plant growth regulators in the micropropagation of the ‘Gisela 5’ (Prunus cerasus × P. canescens) dwarf sweet cherry rootstock. Nodal explants from young healthy shoots were excised and cultured on Murashige and Skoog medium without growth regulators. In vitro raised shoot tips were transferred to three culture media including Murashige and Skoog (MS), Driver and Kuniyuki (DKW) and Lloyd and McCown (WPM) containing benzyl adenine (BA) (0.5, 1 or 2 mg·l−1) in combination with kinetin (Kin) at 0 or 0.5 mg·l−1. WPM and DKW media were proving to be the most effective, resulting in a higher percentage of shoot multiplication and shoot number as compared to MS. BA in concentration 2 mg·l−1 resulted in the highest number of microshoots per explant (3.1). For rooting, 0, 0.5, 1 or 2 mg·l−1 indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) on MS, DKW and WPM media were tested. WPM medium containing 2 mg·l−1 IBA was most effective for rooting (93.7%) in comparison to MS (53.1%) and DKW (14.0%). Rooted plantlets were successfully hardened and established in pots.
