Seed germination and early seedling growth are the stages in a plant's life cycle during which it is most sensitive to environmental stresses. The adaptability of an alien plant at this stage to unfavorable environmental conditions is one of the key factors determining its invasiveness. In this study, experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of dormancy features, storage time, pericarp, temperature, pH, osmotic stress, salt stress and seed burial depth on seed germination, seedling growth and seedling emergence in Gaura parviflora. Although the four seeds of each capsule were found to differ significantly with respect to weight (P < 0.01), their vigor and germination rates were similar to one another. Seed vigor was greater than 96%, and germination was higher than 98% after release from dormancy. The pericarp of G. parviflora affected seed germination via physical obstruction, and was the major cause of seed dormancy. After storage at room temperature, G. parviflora seed germination initially increased; at longer storage times, however, it decreased. Prior to storage, no germination occurred. After one month of storage, germination rates as high as 54% were observed, with maximum germination (98.5%-99%) taking place after 3-6 months of storage. Germination rate and germination speed decreased significantly after one year of storage, although the germination rate was still greater than 90%. The first two seeds of G. parviflora capsules germinated (10.5%) and emerged at the same time under outdoor conditions. After one year of burial in the soil, germination rates of the remaining second, third and fourth ungerminated seeds averaged 45.5%, 90.5% and 88.5%, respectively. Gaura parviflora seeds germinated at temperatures ranging from 5 ℃ to 35 ℃, with optimum germination occurring at 15-25 ℃, and optimum seedling growth taking place at 25 ℃. Gaura parviflora seeds were fairly tolerant of high salt stress and low water potential, with germination rates of 33.5% and 9% observed at a salinity level of 0.15 mol/L and an osmotic potential of -0.5 MPa, respectively. The optimum soil moisture content for seed germination and seedling growth was 50%. Gaura parviflora seeds were able to germinate over a broad range of pH values, ranging from pH 5 to 9. When seeds were placed on the soil surface, the seedling emergence rate was 43%. Maximum seedling emergence (89.5%) occurred at a burial depth of 2 cm. No seedlings emerged when a burial depth of 10 cm was used. Seed dormancy, seed germination and seedling emergence are the critical factors responsible for the rapid invasion characteristics of this species. Our results should be helpful for predicting potential distribution areas of G. parviflora and for developing effective management strategies for this species.