6,340 Garden Web Discussions | Growing from Seed
The potassium salt of gibberellic acid is water soluabe where gibberellic acid is soluabe in alcohol. stability would depend on... was it stored in a DARK bottle.... was it stored in a cool location ....& how long was it stored. simply testing its effect on seed would indicate if it is still "good"
yiorges,
The label does indeed say it's the potassium salt. What it does not say is what the "inactive ingredients" are. There is a strong smell of isopropanol; what percent this is of the solution is unclear. It's not in pure water.
So anyway, the quick question seems clear--it does not quickly decompose in such solutions. The company selling the product was not trying to scam people.
As to storage--it has been exposed to light (is that a known factor for decomposition or just a general precaution?), to pretty high temperatures and it's pretty old. So not good, although nothing proved yet.
Testing on seeds or plants--exactly, but what types? Which seeds with longer germination times are known to break their dormancy in response to Gibberellic acid? And are they likely to be something I have sitting around? There are plenty of seeds that respond to other things--smoke, for example, but not GA-3. Perhaps there are "normal" seeds that germinate in half the time--say 5 instead of 10 days? My point is that I can't take several of every seed I own and figure this out.
OK, I did a quick check--apparently lettuce is one of those things that's a classic example--lettuce, the Grand Rapids variety in particular, germinates much better in the dark with gibberellic acid. It's unclear to me whether this applies to all lettuce (and I'm not going to dig it up). I'll just get a mix of different lettuces and give it a shot. I'll use the seeds anyway.
The lettuce stuff was a short report in Science in 1957. It's a JSTOR article, so sorry, no link.
Title: EFFECT OF GIBBERELLIN ON GERMINATION OF LETTUCE SEED
Source: Science [0036-8075] KAHN yr:1957 vol:125 iss:3249 pg:645 -646
If I see no effect on germination I'll just add a ton and see if the seedlings start looking funky or anything.
yiorges and Medo,
I have 4 three-year old evodia daniellii trees that are perfectly winter hardy here (I am zone 4, close to zone 3). I have a gardening friend here in MN who grows it as well.
Medo, the first seed sprouted within about a month. When none of the others germinated, I put the container outside in the spring after frost danger was over and let the rain, sunlight, fluctuating temps do their thing. By about mid-summer, three more seeds germinated. I planted all of them out in a nursery bed, though I thought the smallest trees would winter-kill, but all have survived.
Kate
Karen
I have started heucheras, bergenia, some indoor plants- calceolaria. I have also started several primulas which I love. Primulas will be under lights until late Feb and then go into sunroom. Sunroom is not heated so plants that can not tolerate occasional dip in temperature will not be moved there. Heuchera and bergenia are very slow growing so I will not have problems with them till spring. there are some rare plants that I am looking forward to growing I might start now, mostly because I have time now and won't have time in the spring. I do several columbines now, not the common ones but those that I really want and cost me $$$. For germination of columbines and primulas I use GA-3/ read more on JL Hudson, seedsman website/ so I do not use cold stratification.
I also started some cyclamen hederifolium, I like to start it early and feed bulbs till they nice and plump when they planted into spring.
If you have seeds of begonias, tuberous or other kind you can start them now. They are slow growing and take indoor light well. I brought mine in from last year sowing so am not planning to grow new ones this year.
I will start couple of trays of pansies in a couple of weeks, I usually get them to start blooming in April and have full containers until early summer when I replace them with other plants.
Thanks i found out these are also known as buttonbush or Cephalanthus occidentalis and this helped me find info reguarding the plant.
Heres are a couple of links you can check out:
It sounds like you are trying to harvest the seeds before they are ripe. The petals will all fall off and the center of the flower will turn brown and hard. The stem leading up to the flower will also turn brown. You need to wear gloves when harvesting these because the pods are pretty sharp. Once the seeds are ripe, you can either put the pods in a bag to dry completely or break the pods open to harvest the seeds. They look like the picture in the link morz8 provided.
Becky
ramazz
morz8 and ramazz,
I may very well need to offer you both an apology. Razz described something different than what I am calling mexican sunflower. I will take a picture of what I have and maybe one of you will be able to identify it if I am calling it by the wrong name. Thanks to both of you.
hank2230@yahoo.com
Check the soil you bought from Lowe's and read the label. Some of the so-called organic stuff is NOT to be used for potting soil and it says so right on the bag, it's intended for mixing into in-the-ground soil. My sister had the same problem.
To plant your seeds in potting soil, make SURE it says it's potting soil, and not just soil. If you have some homemade compost, mix some in with your potting soil for good nutrition. And make sure it gets adequate sunlight.
Sue
moonflower can refer to two completely different plants. One is Ipomoea alba, which is a member of the morning glory family and is a vine, while the other is a Datura. You might want to look up the seeds you have. Datura seeds are usually black or tan, and are like a fat, flat coma. The Ipomoea alba has seeds the size of a pea with impressions on it and is usually tan.
Since cuttings using the pads is so easy that is my prefered method of propagation But since you asked. Soak the seed in acid for 1 hour then rince & store at 40F for 90 days. then lightly cover with soil...soil 70F may take 1 year to germinate
Hi tumblingtomatoes,
I see it is available for sale at the link below. I'm sorry, I don't know about how it would do in FL. You might check at The Florida Forum.
Sue
Here is a link that might be useful: Diane's Flower Seeds
1) The most dependible way to sterilize would be to heat the soil in the oven/microwave/etc. reamber the leaf mold will be heated during the composting process.
2) I encourage all forms of experiments BUT please post the results so we can all benifit.....
3) the additional nutrients will not be a problem... Most of the excess will be lost with the watering.....
Actually you don't have to sterilize it. It is a stinky and time consuming process. Many of us have used compost and/or leaf mold for years as an additive to our potting mixes and seed starting mix and do so without sterilization.
Some have reported results in the past - with photos - of using mixes as well as straight compost/leaf mold over on the Soil & Compost forum here. The particle size seems to be the most important consideration - the smaller the better with sifted very fine performing best.
The main concern in seed starting is "damp-off" and it is caused by too much moisture/overwatering seedlings and is just as common with so-called sterile soil-less mixes as with anything else.
So if you wish to experiment I would suggest you add a 3rd approach for comparison - do a batch of seeds in a mix that you don't sterilize (and avoid over-watering all 3) and see which works best for you.
Good luck.
Dave