Don't know what GA-3 is myself but I don't like the sounds of that shock you recieved for that price. That stuff better be pretty special.

Did they not send you instructions? They should have because it's not an easy product to use.

Gibberellic acid-3 (GA-3) is something that you only use in very small quantities. Those few flakes are probably enough to treat hundreds of seeds. If you use too much you can harm the seeds by sending them into overdrive and they'll exhaust their ability to support themselves. Usually it's dissolved in water and you soak the seeds in it for some specific period of time.

It's also not something most seeds need. It can help most seeds, and it can eliminate certain requirements usually needed to break dormangy, such as stratification. It can increase germination rates too but very few seeds need it. What did they say needed it?

BP

Just look on the Gardens North website for detailed instructions!

Claudbill, acquire a package of toothpicks, a shot glass, a 5 cc syringe as these accessories are handy too.
I've treated Thalictrum flavum this year hoping for a faster germination. Used the toohpick method as Kristl suggests.
I still have lots of powder left over, in the fridge, from last year.
The first time I purchased GA-3, I mixed it all up & kept the solution in the fridge, dropping gtts on sown seeds as needed. This was a waste.
sam

I agree. The stuff is highly potent, so you need only a tiny amount of it. I've used it a bit, and haven't gotten anywhere near finishing a packet. And, yes, the stuff is very special. I've germinated gentiana lutea in warmth with it, with 100% germination rate, even with year-old seeds. I'm also convinced that it's responsible for my trilliums germinating in under a year (although it still needs a few weeks of cold before germination, and the rate is lower, about 50%, due to the seeds being year-olds).

As for what needs it, generally, do NOT use it on annuals, and most of the easy-germinators, as well as some of the difficult ones. A general rule of thumb I've read is that if some members of the genus are receptive to it, it's likely the others are too. Some genera that can use it are aquilegia (not necessary, but useful with very fresh seeds, although not with older ones), various cacti, gentiana, thalictrum, and viola (some of the rarer species, I read, absolutely require it). For some plants, it will be very harmful, as it is a growth hormone, and may accelerate growth with some plants to an early old age (like the corn (?) plants it was discovered from that it killed). For many plants, it will do absolutely nothing (one example is dierama, from what I've read).

The use is not an exact science, and it seems that some plants require more of it than others, although no one has actually looked into which requires how much. The paper that Gardens North sent with it should explain good methods for general use, as have the postings above. Good luck, and enjoy! I've had a lot of fun with it.