YOU WILL RECEIVE 5 VIABLE SEEDS  nelumbo nucifera seeds water lily lotus flower plant seeds MIXED RANDOM COLOURS The inherent characteristic of the Nelumbo seed is to remain dormant for many years even if the environment is perfect for them. This resistance to germination is caused by the seedcoat which is almost impermeable to water penetration. The secret for speeding up the germination process is to remove this protective cover without harming the internal seed. Many methods of doing this have been described in the literature (including soaking in concentrated sulfuric acid for 5 hours), but the method I use is easily available to every one. The primary tool is a pair of pliers which has the usual pipe grip cutout at the business end. The pliers are used to get a firm grip on the seed within the oval pipe grip section of the pliers. The seed is very tough and you do not have to grip the seed so hard as to crack it. The seed is then rubbed along a rough surface to wear away part of the seed coat. The preferred surface is a medium grit sand paper laid flat on a table, although a concrete surface or file can be used. The optimum grit size for the sandpaper is # 80, although a finer grit (higher number) can also do the job. It just takes more rubbing and the sandpaper wears out sooner. You will then appreciate how hard the seedcoat really is. There are two areas where the seed scouring can take place: on the side or at the dimpled end. I prefer the side because the progress of the rubbing (or sanding) is more uniformly determined. When scouring the side, rub the seed in one area only. This will produce a shiny flat surface as the rubbing proceeds. This surface should be inspected frequently to check the process of the wearing away process. At first, the surface is a uniform black color. As the rubbing proceeds, a thin white line circle or oval will appear, depending on the seed type. This indicates the breaking through of the junction between the two fused seed coats. At this point you can stop the rubbing. If you have missed this point in the rubbing process (it is sometimes difficult to see), and you continue on rubbing, you will eventually see a cream colored area coming into view in the center. If you stop here you will still have satisfactorily rubbed the seed. If the area suddenly brightens into a clear cream color with a distinct edge, it means you have broken into the cotyledon. This opens the seed to possible fungal infection. But save the seed anyhow, it may survive. If you rub, file or sand the dimpled end, the sequential events are not so clear cut as described above because the seed structure is not as uniform. In fact, there is an irregular airspace between the seed shell and the cotyledon and you may break into it before the cotyledon is reached. This is an acceptable result for seed preparation, but not consistently attainable. Those of you who have an adventurous nature may want to attempt this route. As a further comment, this is the seed end where the seedling emerges from the shell. After the above preparation, the seed is placed into a container of water. I find clear plastic cups work out well. Place the cups with the seeds in a warm place where the water will remain between 70 and 90 F. Temporary movements outside this range will do no harm; however, the cooled temperatures will delay the sprouting and growth rate of the seedling. The first thing you will notice after a few hours is a change in the color of the water: it will either turn a clear tan color or cloudy white. The cloudy color is caused by bacteria feeding on the exudation from the seed. If the water is not replaced, a thin scum will form on the water surface. The rapidity at which this occurs depends upon the container size; the greater the water volume, the less the effect. Nevertheless, the water should be changed and container walls scrubbed to keep the environment reasonably clean. I have not seen where slightly cloudy water harms healthy seeds, but I haven't tested the limits. When the water starts out with a clear tan color, it seems to suppress the bacterial influx. The second thing you will notice is the swelling of the seed to almost double in volume. In some cases the seed coat will exhibit irregular bulges; this is normal. The seed coat becomes soft and has the texture of leather. This process usually occurs within a day or two, but for some seed it may take up to a week. This expansion is produced by the cotyledons as they take up water. In a few cases, the seed may float to the surface of the water. After the swelling is completed, there will be a period of no activity as the seed thinks about whether or not to burst out from its shell. This can happen anywhere from one day to several weeks. When the Nelumbo seed sprouts, the two cotyledons separate as if on a hinge at the dimpled end of the seed. The folded over stem of the green embryo can then be seen between them. The folded stem grows out of the seed shell and pulls the inrolled first leaf after it. At this stage of growth the seedling looks like a sharply bent fish hook with the inrolled leaves imitating the barb.   Seeds are a living product that rely on many impotant factors including the growers own skills,planting time,seed depth,type of soil, weather etc etc Once you have received your seeds its over to you,,we cannot be held responsible after this point as we have no control over the growing conditions All our seed is sent in a clear ziplock bag, all growing instructions are on the ebay listing, and questions on sowing /growing the seed please dont hesitate to contact us through ebay messages Track Page Views With Auctiva's FREE Counter