Nick and soak overnight. Then they come up very quickly and easily.

i didnt even nick or soak mine and it came up in 4 days,

but it might have something to do with living in the bahamas (extreme heat= faster germination).

Simon, didn't you find the shell to be hard? I have soaked the seeds for two days and it is still hard so now I am thinking about nicking....

You can also scrape each seed several times on a piece of sandpaper, or an emery board. They'll suck up water more quickly. Sometimes you'll see the fat white root come slithering out, and maybe a bit of green from the seedleaves. Have fun. P.S. Don't you wish a lot of seeds were as easy to handle as moonflowers?

I do wish that I can start the moonflower seeds but none has sprouted. Does anyone in Toronto area can trade a couple of seedling with me? Or are there any Ontario nurseries sell moonflower seedings?

I filled the bottom of a little washtub with expandable peat pellets, expanded them with H2O, then planted (with no pre-treatment) half with Moonflower and half with Morning Glory 'Heavenly Blue'. I then set the tub in a sunny window indoors. They came up without a problem (in a room with steady temp), and then I hardened them outdoors for about a week in a shady spot, and now I've started planting them around where I want them. So far so good.

I only had two seeds left so I soaked them for about three days and then put them in a peat pellet. This time, ha, one is sprouting! :)

i soaked mine overnight, and they came up within a few days. i didn't nick them. your climate and mine are very different, though. **smiles** good luck!

I searched all over high and low (even went to 5 nurseries north of Toronto) for the plants and finally found 1 package of seeds in early June! It was the last package of seeds in the nursery and then it was in the wrong location so I was delighted to find the packet. I soaked six seeds overnight then nicked them the next day because they were still rock hard. Out of all of these only one sprouted - the rest rotted(I guess I kept them too moist as well as covering them with plastic!). I planted 2 more - this time I have one very healthy looking plant and the second is not doing anything - but it's not rotted as yet anyway. Since I don't have a trellis I'm going to use 2 bamboo poles and hope for the best. I've also put the pot on a 'plant mover' (sort a tray with wheels) so I can rotate it.
I think next year I'll try the sandpaper routine mentioned
by quiltguy. I had great success with moonflowers two years ago but this growing season is off to a bad start in Toronto.

Patches, congrats! My solo moonflower seedling is doing well, too. Glad to hear that you have good experience with moonflowers in Toronto. Do you think it will bloom for us? I read that sometimes when it is finally mature enough to bloom, the frost starts.

I think climate must have a lot to do with it. I soaked five seeds for 48 hours and then planted them in peat pots. Within about three days they were all sprouting. I had just one casualty that rotted before it had completely pushed its way out of the soil. The rest were planted in a 30 cm. pot about a week later after their roots started growing through the peat pots.

My moonflower is budding!! It only grows when the temp is really warm and sits there when it is cool. :)

Can moonvine seed be bought. Seems i have looked the internet high and low with no success finding any? Any sites that any of you know of?

look on ebay: this is a link to a site that sells 100 seeds for $3.99
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2348675313&category=43549

I live in East Texas, so have a long growing season. I soak my moonvine seeds for 24-48 hours in very warm water with a drop of dishwashing liquid. I have had my best luck by just poking a hole in the soil with my finger, dropping the seed in and covering it, and keeping it watered. I have tried sprouting them in peat pots, seed trays, but being in the ground seems to work best. I have several vines blooming that are going to make tons of seeds, so if anyone wants some, just let me know. Once you ever get it to grow, flower and make seeds you will never be without again. I even stored some seeds from 1994 and planted them year before last and they came up. My plants this year are from seeds that came from those seeds. Judith

I found a site selling Datura Angel's Trumpet seeds for $2.99 a pack.
It is at gardenguides.com
kathy

If we're talking vine here, who has WSed their seeds? I want to do that and get a jump on things or should I sow indoors early?

also, my moonflowers that I planted in August never bloomed, but are still standing. Will they over winter here?

Can't wait til spring!

For me I did it both ways the nicked one sprouted in 2 days the others its been a week nothing.I think nicking is a great trick with alot of seeds.

I started with 10 seeds, soaking them over night. The next morning I could crack 9 of them along the seam with my thumb nail. A low rent method, I know, but it worked. It's been 7 days and all 9 have sprouted!

I had success soaking for 24 hours until you see a bulge on one side of the seed (the initial root about to exit from one side of the helum ring on the seed. The aim is to get the soil or peat to keep the seed shell down and yet give little resistance to the leaves as they unfold. So I found the best way to grow them is to insert the presoaked seed at 45 degrees with the root bulge down and the circular helum ring slightly poking out of surface of a new peat pellet. Enclose seeded peat pellet in 85-90 F / 30-32 C heated propagator in high humidity (leave a small container of water with the seeds). Check out the video link below to see what happened. No need to nick the seed!

Here is a link that might be useful: Time lapse of Moonflower Vine Seed Growing

Do any of you have advice about how to go about growing moonflower in sand? I live in the Florida panhandle. My yard is pretty much 100% white sand - almost no dirt at all.

I have moonflower seeds. I was thinking of scaring them, soaking them, then planting them into peat pots. Once they started sprouting, I thought I would just plant them in the ground near my trellis and see what happens. What do you guys think?

I lived in Bradenton, so I understand what you are talking about. When I started my flowerbeds I mixed miracle grow potting soil along with compost into the sand worked it up well with the tiller and had great success with everything I planted.