Over two months ago, I bought a pack of ten tea seeds from Narien (narien.com) and took very cautious steps to ensure that they would germinate.

Here’s the problem: tea seeds normally only take 1-2 months to germinate. My seeds are 78 days in and they still haven’t sprouted.

The packet said to file down the seed coat and sow them in warm soil. I also did some research online and it said to soak them in water for 24 hours, then let them sit in the sun (spraying them with water frequently) for a few hours until they properly cracked. So I did just that. Then I dropped them into two separate soil-filled containers, put them on my kitchen windowsill, and waited 1-2 months for them to sprout.

After a month, I tried covering one of the containers with plastic wrap to see if the added humidity would make a difference. The other one was left as it was. Two months passed and I put the uncovered one outside to see if sunlight would help (despite the fact that the instructions say to grow them someplace cool/shady).

I became frustrated at that point, so a few days ago I dug them all up to see if they had at least rooted.

Nothing.

They are a little more cracked than I had started with, and some of the white creamy insides started seeping out, but no sign of roots. I put two of them back into fresh soil, and the rest are floating in a jar of water in the laundry room.

Has anyone here had experience with Camellias, or Camellia sinensis in particular? Any bit of advice would help. Am I just being impatient? Should I wait a few more months or are the seeds no good? Maybe I could try the wet towel method to get them going?

The ones in water right now are floating (except for one that sank to the bottom)…but they weren’t floating when I started. Is this a sign that they’ve gone bad?

With nine seeds, I could try nine different methods to see which one will work. If you guys suggest some options, I will definitely be open to trying them out.