olivier marthaler Posted November 18, 2014 Report Share Posted November 18, 2014 (edited) Hi all, I plan to sow Nep seeds on sphagnum, peat etc (not TC) and am wondering if GA3 (gibberellic acid I think it is called) is helpful. Having NO experience at all with this technique, I would really appreciate any advice, and if someone could sell me some, thanks again, Olivier Edited November 18, 2014 by olivier marthaler Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riveroalbert Posted February 5, 2015 Report Share Posted February 5, 2015 Hello, I would say if seeds are not fresh (maybe more than 3 months) it might not be very useful... But why not? You could try. You can find GA3 in ebay. Dillute it with a bit of alcohol and then water to the desired concentration. I would say 400ppm for 24 soak. Then plant normally. Just an idea.... never tried that with nepenthes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Clemens Posted February 6, 2015 Report Share Posted February 6, 2015 Nepenthes are tropical, their seed has no usual inhibitors to germination. They easily germinate in appropriate conditions, if they are viable. I might expect that GA3 could cause more trouble than its worth to obtain, prepare, and apply to fresh, highly viable seed. My understanding is that it is used with difficult to germinate seed, seed that has inherent germination inhibiting systems in place. It might even cause abnormal germination and subsequently abnormal growth, if used. However, if the seed is old, and you anticipate that normal viability is strongly compromised due to age, it may be beneficial to pretreat the seeds with a very dilute GA3 solution, just prior to sowing. In that circumstance, you may achieve better germination, than with just normal germination regimens. My usual plan, with old, or seed of very low expected viability, is to surface sterilize them, then sow them in vitro. If done well, it is easy to see if there is any viability remaining in the seed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bux Posted February 6, 2015 Report Share Posted February 6, 2015 Salut Olivier, I did not have any improving germination using Ga3 when I started in vitro experiments many years ago. Neps seeds are made to germinate quickly. Fabrice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adelae Posted February 8, 2015 Report Share Posted February 8, 2015 Going off Joseph Clemens statement "GA3 could cause more trouble", this could e linked to the cutting conundrum, some people use cutting hormones (rooting gels) for their cuttings and say they make all the difference, other say they do nothing, some go as far as saying that neps have natural means of increased cutting success (as many plants do) and that the gels/powders can have a negative effect. I have tried GA3 and found no difference, but my seedlings are misted twice daily (back of greenhouse) so I would image any chemical was washed off (I sprayed them with some excess from my drosera, hence no soaking). Some advice, I have had issues with peat and spag, I find that if they are lowlanders or intermediate (my restriction) they do very, very well on 2 part African violet mix: 1 spag and a small amount of NPK, I use a 30cm seedling tray, fill it, add 1table spoon of NPK then water lightly, add seed and sit in my greenhouse (daily misting, humidity 70%+, good circulation, full sun all day through 50% shade cloth). I then do not transplant until they are making true traps (about 3-4cm diameter), I drop the whole tray in water, let them float up, swish them around and transplant. Hope this helped, sorry its abit late. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lesthegringo Posted May 1, 2015 Report Share Posted May 1, 2015 Going off Joseph Clemens statement "GA3 could cause more trouble", this could e linked to the cutting conundrum, some people use cutting hormones (rooting gels) for their cuttings and say they make all the difference, other say they do nothing, some go as far as saying that neps have natural means of increased cutting success (as many plants do) and that the gels/powders can have a negative effect. I have tried GA3 and found no difference, but my seedlings are misted twice daily (back of greenhouse) so I would image any chemical was washed off (I sprayed them with some excess from my drosera, hence no soaking). Some advice, I have had issues with peat and spag, I find that if they are lowlanders or intermediate (my restriction) they do very, very well on 2 part African violet mix: 1 spag and a small amount of NPK, I use a 30cm seedling tray, fill it, add 1table spoon of NPK then water lightly, add seed and sit in my greenhouse (daily misting, humidity 70%+, good circulation, full sun all day through 50% shade cloth). I then do not transplant until they are making true traps (about 3-4cm diameter), I drop the whole tray in water, let them float up, swish them around and transplant. Hope this helped, sorry its abit late. Sorry, I have never come across NPK before, can you give details? Thanks Les Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corky Posted May 2, 2015 Report Share Posted May 2, 2015 NPK = noitrogen- phosphorus- potassium in fertilisers for plants, so different fertilisers have different NPK ratings Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lesthegringo Posted May 2, 2015 Report Share Posted May 2, 2015 Thanks for clarifying! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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