If you grew hybrid bulbs for coloured flowers then the seed may not come 'true' from seed. You could end up with cream flowers, perhaps with mauve on the outside of the petals. You might also be lucky enough to get the scent back - and that would be worth the wait. One way you could check viability is to place some seed on a damp tissue or paper towel, cover with the paper folded over and put the whole lot into a snap-lock baggie in a warm place to see if the seeds begin to shoot. If they do then you could lightly sow more seed into containers with regular seed raising mix, damp but not wet. I suspect they may need to be covered but not deeply. The ones that sprouted on the paper can be picked up with tweezers and put onto seed raising mix to continue. However, they might not show until the usual months for the leaves to start appearing - and that's over winter. If your original raising container has enough depth, you could leave the seedlings there for at least a year to grow on and develop a bulb you can then pot up to grow to flowering size.

Thank you Vall3fam! Nice job. Yes it appears to be the Barringtonia asiatica. Very interesting. I will add the link "alternative medicine" article that I'm reading now on it. http://alternative-medicine.knoji.com/poison-tree-barringtonia-asiatica-an-amazing-fruit-that-cures-many-diseases/

Carol, IMHO I think that the fresher the seed the higher the germination rate. I have put seeds directly into water from the pod..and I have let them sit for a few days. All seem to germinate fairly well. Now earlier, I did a cross of Limona x Shirley May and soaked about 15 seeds immediately..most of them germinated just fine.. about 3 weeks later I found a handful more of this cross and decided to soak them and they aren't doing well at all. I think I only got about 2 seeds to germinate out of about 15 seeds in the second batch. And on the other hand, I selfed my father's Samba and immediately soaked about 10 seeds at his house..they are doing fine. I brought the rest of the seeds home and wasn't going to do anything with them and then decided to try about 7 or 8 of them. At least 3 weeks later I soaked them and they immediately germinated..some seeds are surely more vigirous than others.. I know in the past Cindee found some seeds that she had forgotten about for about a year and when she tried to germinate them they did well so who knows..the fresher the seed the better I would say but I'm sure others out there have had more experience than I have..I'm not really sure whether drying for a few day is necessary or not.. Donna

Careful about starting them too early, Judy... Unless you have the monster grow lights used by pot growers, the inexpensive grow lights can make the stems elongated and weak, which gets worse over time and can collapse after finally being set out. It's best to time them so they're no more then 6 inches before planting out. Of course, in January, its fun to get your fingers dirty while waiting for the weather outside to cooperate. I used to start things too early all the time, just for sanity's sake. Things tend to grow better later on if I wait, though. A well-known dahlia hybridizer assisted me in putting the following guidelines a few years back. Hope it helps someone. ----------------------- Here is a general guideline for pre-starting dahlias in the spring, from seed, tuber or cutting: Seeds- 5-6 weeks prior to planting Tubers for cuttings- 8-10 weeks prior to planting Take cuttings- 6-8 weeks prior to planting Tubers for plants- 4-6 weeks for most varieties, 6-8 for giant varieties Planting differs depending on your location, but a good rule of thumb is when you would plant tomatoes... When the ground is warm, and the last frost is behind you. Too early will set back the plants even without the frost, as they won't continue root growth in cold soil. --------------------------