Why don't you see how close you can come to this:

Cercis - Druse (Making More Plants) :

Pour hot water (170F) over seeds, soak 24 hours. Sow barely covered (some light may be beneficial to germination) outdoors, or provide moist cold (40F) for 60-90 days, followed by sow barely covered @ 70F for germination in an additional 30-90 days. All seeds may not germinate at the same time.

revleroy, your idea will probably work, and you can always adjust your setup. you can also put them in some soil over the winter, but your way will probably work justr the same.