Hello Janet, The water flotation method is good for seeds that are papery like Zephyranthes and Hippeastrum. These seeds are often short lived in dry storage AND have the ability to float on water. So they would stay on the surface of the water until they germinate. Which means they are in contact with air and water at the same time. (I use no lid) That is why I was surprised by Hans‘ comment that even seeds that sink into the water would still germinate. I had thought that they suffocate or sink because they are dead anyway. Soaking seed in water overnight is a different method. Very many seeds benefit from an overnight soak in lukewarm water, especially the hard shelled ones would be nicked before. That is what I did with the 16 year old Canna seed I mentioned. These seeds sink to the ground immediately and quite contrary to the water flotation method a floating seed which will not sink during the night is often (but not always) dead. On the other hand my experience is that these seeds do not like to be in water for too long and would start to macerate if forgotten. Your Asclepiad seeds fall into the second group which might benefit from an overnight soak but in my opinion I would not leave them in water for too long. But if you have enough seeds you can experiment and let us know..... Maybe other members of the forum have different opinions or experience? Bye for now Uli _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/…