In general, treatments which increased tissue dehydration before or during freezing were most successful when followed by relatively slow thawing.Conversely where dehydration to a lesser degree was achieved, more rapid thawing was advantageous. Postthawing washing or inoculation into liquid media was inhibitory to recovery. On semisolid regrowth medium, somatic embryos resumed normal development, whereas in plantlets the root and shoot meristem regions gave rise to new growth. In both cases, inclusion of activated charcoal in the medium promoted organized growth.