With this method of forced germination the seed coat and aril are removed as minor obsticals. It is not about "seed coat nicking" The important cut is actually through the hillum (pointed) end of the seed. The slice to be cut of needs to be thick enough to leave a tiny hole showing in the cut surface where the ebryo (? radical) will protrude. on a large seed the slice could be nearly as thick as blotting paper. I put all the pictures to explain the procedure on the Scotthish Rock Garden Club Forum Thead here http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=6450.0 The razor blade is for cutting the actual seed - not for cutting the seed coat. Peter (UK) On 16 November 2014 04:15, penstemon <penstemon@q.com> wrote: > My understanding (undoubtedly limited) of seed coat nicking is that its > purpose is to let in water, so it probably doesn't make much difference > where the cut is made. > > It is mildly galling to realize that possibly the only place colder than > my garden is the South Pole. -13C right now. > > > Bob Nold > Denver, Colorado > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/ >