What's new
TerraForums Venus Flytrap, Nepenthes, Drosera and more talk

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Gibberellic Acid Amounts?

I have been having trouble getting a form of Drosera burmannii to germinate. I was told to use gibberellic acid on some seeds. I was told to make solution in this amount (100mg of GA with 400mL of H2O). Does that sound good? Does anyone have experience in germinating seed with GA? I would like to hear of your experiences.
 
A common concentration for seed germination is 250 ppm, with an eight to twelve hour soak, prior to planting. Overuse of GA3 will largely have the opposite effect and have an inhibitory effect on seed. The mix ratio that you mentioned is already at the preferred concentration . . .
 
Last edited:
Do a Google search (or your favorite search engine) on "norman c. deno seed germination" and download his papers on "Seed Germination Theory and Practice". Plenty of information on GA3 treatment and concentrations in there.
 
A common concentration for seed germination is 250 ppm, with an eight to twelve hour soak, prior to planting. Overuse of GA3 will largely have the opposite effect and have an inhibitory effect on seed. The mix ratio that you mentioned is already at that concentration . . .

Worthwhile note on calculating concentrations that most people don't know:

PPM = mg/L

So your 100mg/0.4L = 250PPM, as correctly noted above. This'll be useful to know if you want to scale up/down.

Feel free to contact me if you need a hand weighing out any of those quantities as I have access to balances. We could either do mail (GA3 is not regulated as hazardous by DOT), or in person if you ever find yourself down in Champaign-Urbana.
 
Ive used GA3 many times with great success and have traded it with many members here :) as bigbella said 250ppm is usually a good starting point and usually in my experience anything over that for CPs seeds especially ones like nep's that dont have a hard shell coating run the risk off harming the seed (anything over 900ppm runs the risk of destroying the seeds). Usually in my experience 150-200ppm is good for many types of seeds and i usually go up 50ppm till i reach a desired strength of GA3 for whatever I'm using them for. I do a 24 hour soak for most hard shelled seeds and a 8 to 12 hour soak for softer shelled seeds. Since GA3 is non solvable u must mix ot with running alcohal yo break it down before mixing it with the called for amount of water. On my GA3 chart its usually around 2 1/2 cups of water for 250ppm GA3 (dissolved in drips of rubbing alcohal veggie water is mixed) to create a soak solution. Goodluck

Here is my chart:
<a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa215/igethigh420/Mobile%20Uploads/20150903_012527-1.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 20150903_012527-1.jpg"/></a>
 
Thanks for the input everyone! Hopefully it will help me obtain this stubborn form on D. burmannii among others.

Worthwhile note on calculating concentrations that most people don't know:

PPM = mg/L

So your 100mg/0.4L = 250PPM, as correctly noted above. This'll be useful to know if you want to scale up/down.

Feel free to contact me if you need a hand weighing out any of those quantities as I have access to balances. We could either do mail (GA3 is not regulated as hazardous by DOT), or in person if you ever find yourself down in Champaign-Urbana.

Thanks for offering, I will let you know if I run into trouble.
 
So, what do I do once I am ready to sow? Do I just dump the seeds and the liquid onto the media? Is there a good method for removing such tiny seeds from the solution?
 
U can strain the seeds through a coffee filter remove all water from the seeds then sow directly into the media. Don't pour the water in the media remove the seeds from it then sow immediately! Goodluck
 
So, what do I do once I am ready to sow? Do I just dump the seeds and the liquid onto the media? Is there a good method for removing such tiny seeds from the solution?

The method that I have continued to use, is to soak the seed in a 250 ppm GA3 solution, within small filter paper pouches, fastened with a plastic clip. Afterwards, the tiny seed will adhere to the saturated paper, and may be scraped with a probe or toothpick, onto the desired media. The remaining liquid is either discarded; or, if desired, refrigerated for later use . . .

 
Last edited:
  • #10
I usually put the seeds in a coffee filter then put the coffee filter with the seeds in it and dip it in the ga3 water solution until the seeds are somewhat emersed/floating a bit then i take an elastic band and take the ends of the coffee filter and adhear it to the top of the cup or container to let the seeds soak then after the Appropriate time soaking i remove the elastic and remove the coffee filter with the seeds in it letting the water drain from the coffee filter until the seeds are sitting in the filter then i remove the seeds and sow ontop of the soil immediately :) hope that helps
 
  • #11
Beat me to it bigbella! Thats a great idea too!
 
  • #12
I use the Deno method. Take a square of paper towel or filter paper. Put the seeds on it near the center. Fold it twice. Moisten the paper with the GA3 solution with an eyedropper or pipette. Take a piece of plastic bag (Clear polyethylene the type used for food/sandwich bags) large enough to hold packet with a decent margin all around with one fold. Polyethylene will allow CO2 and O2 to pass but not H20. Fold another moistened paper towel over this. Put the whole thing in zip lock baggie for however log you need to soak them. Little wastage of solution this way. Re-using solution is not recommended as the seeds will absorb the GA3 and the concentration lowers so you wind up with unknown concentrations.
 
Last edited:
  • #13
E
Re-using solution is not recommended as the seeds will absorb the GA3 and the concentration lowers so you wind up with unknown concentrations.

I have reused the solution two to three times without any issue or potential loss of potency; and I generally freeze it between uses . . .
 
  • #14
Ive resused it aswell, anything longer then 5 to 7 days usually dwindles but i havent had to much issues with reusing it i usually have a bottle of solution in my fridge most of the time lol!
 
Last edited:
Back
Top