Tonia,
I've never soaked any hibiscus seeds. I just winter sow them in Jan, Feb, and early March, Have had almost 100% germination, growth and bloom from all that I've seeded this way. May be the soaking from WS does the job. Not to late to just WS your seeds now.
Fran

Float test for seed (and I don't know how it applies to hibiscus) -

Place the seeds in a glass of water and see
which seeds float and which sink to the bottom. The
ones that float are generally not viable while the ones
that sink are usually viable. The problem is due to seed
size, shape, weight or other properties, certain seeds
may stay a float or sink whether they are viable or not.

I've found the float test to be effectively useless. There may be species where it works, but it doesn't for all those I have tried. Sow them all, the ones that grow are viable, the rest are not.

Hi all. Thank you for all your response.
I rent & am not able to plant in ground so i will be sowing indoors in pots, again.
I don't know why the float test, was told at one time to do this, never questioned it before.
Soaking helps to encourage germination????
Hibiscus is hard seed & won't go thru freeze/thaw cycle as i pick them in late oct. from the mother plant in my moms garden.
Thank you again!
Enjoy your evening!
Tonia

Tonia, hard seed coats (like with hibiscus) protect the embryos, but they also prevent germination by excluding moisture. These hard coated seeds will sprout when there is a breach in the seed coat that allows moisture to penetrate to the dormant embryo triggering germination.
Soaking alone will help some types of seeds, scarifying is recommended for hibiscus. It doesn't hurt to soak them overnight to begin to soften the coat and then carefully nick the seed skin on the back of the seed with a razor blade, file them, carefully make a nick with fingernail clippers, rub them on sandpaper. Anything that will breach or weaken the seed hard outer layer....You can even put them in a jar of coarse sand, cover, and shake like crazy.

Some seeds respond fantastically to just soaking, morning glory will germinate in the water if you leave them too long! The ones that need scarifying I find do very well in a moist paper towel. It is hard to scarify or nick just the right amount to let in water without damaging the insides (unless you are a commercial grower and can time your acid dip to the second!). In a paper towel they seem to soak up water over a week or so with or without scarifying.

Hi! I did soak them a little over 24 hrs, and i did pot them already but didn't scar them. There were two out of about 200 seeds that had started to germinate & open up when i took them out of the water. I sure hope more than 2
grow LOL! Thank you for your help.
Enjoy your evening!
Tonia

Does that always happen some float &some sink? B/c I'm wondering the same thing I keep reading that the floating seeds are no good...