>Naturally they aren't dosed with GA3 in nature, doesn't mean they don't come >in contact with naturally occurring giberellins and all sorts of difficult to >reproduce dormancy breaking conditons in habitat, not to mention possibly >germinating at extremely low rates (not so good when you only get 5 seeds in a >packet :( ) over long periods of time--works fine in nature, given enough >undisturbed habitat, but not very satisfying in the garden..
The circular argument used by GA3 advocates runs something like this: I get seeds to germinate using GA3, therefore there must be giberellins in the native soil. I've successfully germinated seeds that are said to "require" GA3 in nothing but sand and vermiculite. Cold treatment outdoors is a pretty effective substitute for almost any seed that is said to require specialized treatment (GA3, scarification, smoke, etc.). Of course the impatience factor, and only five seeds in a packet, are arguments for using almost anything to get seeds to germinate. My fundamentally slothful character (the snow treatment never worked) dictates that the less amount of effort, the better. >very limited Pediocactus germination (cold stratification, heat treatments, >piercing etc are also used with these) Pediocactus and Sclerocactus are best germinated using vernalization. Sown outdoors at this time of year. They mostly come up like radishes in spring, or the year after. The seedlings are sensitive to too much light, though. (Red means dead in just a short while.) Bob Nold Denver, Colorado, USA
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