The most prominent physiological effect of gibberellin is to promote stem elongation and induce long day plants to bolt and blossom under short day conditions.

Different plants have different sensitivity to gibberellin. Genetically, dwarf plants such as dwarf maize and pea are most sensitive to gibberellin, and their plant types are similar to those of non-dwarf plants after gibberellin treatment, whereas non-dwarf plants show only slight reactions.