Question
Hello,
I ordered some D madagascariensis and d paradoxa seeds, these seeds have probably been stored for a while and they probably aren't the freshest but they have been stored in a fridge.  So do you think it would help if I soaked these in some 500-550 ppm gibberelic acid for 24 hours, and should i rise it off before sowing?
Thanks

Answer
Hi Adam,

With your seeds, you won't need to use GA3 (gibberilic acid) at all.  It's useful with temperate plants that require a few months of cold damp conditions before they germinate from seed.  But it's not at all necessary with tropical plants that sprout up readily from seed.

If you choose to use GA3, use only 200 ppm or less and soak the seeds for 24 hours.  There's no need to rinse them before sowing.  

Carnivorous plants also utilize hormones much differently than regular plants, so you have to be very judicious in their usage.  Plants and seeds treated with GA3 will develop faster metabolism.  This means that they will require more nutrients.  Unfortunately, carnivorous plants absorb nutrients much slower than regular plants, so carnivorous plants are at a higher risk of developing nutritional deficiencies when treated with GA3.

While you may get a higher germination rate with GA3, the flip side is that you have seedlings that grow much slower.  The nutritional deficiencies are part of it, but the other part is that GA3 promotes leaf growth rather than root growth.  So your seedlings will have weaker root structures.  This effect may last for a year or two.  To assist your seedlings, you'll need to spray them with a very week solution of orchid fertilizer.  Use only 1/4 teaspoon per gallon of water, and mist the seedlings just enough so that the leaves are moist.  Avoid getting too much of the fertilizer in the soil where it can burn the delicate roots.

So keep this in mind should you choose to use GA3.  If you are new to growing carnivorous plants or have very little experience in using the hormone on other types of plants, I'd recommend that you not use it altogether.  This might not be the news you wanted to hear, but carnivorous plants grow differently than regular plants, so you need to always keep this in mind.

Good growing!
Jacob Farin