Soak the seeds in hot, almost boiling water for a few hours before sowing.

Bottom heat as well

I finally got 1 to germinate. 2 cotyledons have popped out of the soil but for the last 4-5 days it has not grown in length AT ALL. I pulled very gently to see if the root was rotted off but its still intact.

this is really weird. it's like it just decided to stop growing. The cotyletons are JUST popping out of the soil - no stem is visible.

Well...Hope you don't mind my jumping in, but I've had the same problem too. Multiple attempts, 40+ seeds, only 4 plants...2 doing well, 2 mediocre.

This time I'm soaking in hot tap water and only planting them once they sink.

8 seeds soaked for 2 hours tonite, only 2 sank so far & have been planted in ProMix BX...others still soaking...

--Don

Mine germinated fast but they suddenly collapsed! Try putting them in a brighter place.

while it is in many ways cold consilation, seeds can remain dormant for years.

Btw, where is a good source for seeds? I had a pretty nice set of 3 growing in my classroom in a 5" pot. [One had started to branch out and was about 5 inches across from one branch tip to the other. Then Xmas break came along. I had thought the school's heat would be turned way down over break. It wasn't. Poor babies were crispy critters by the time I came back two weeks later. *sigh*

Paul, Home Depot sells Mimosa seeds, (if u can find them) They used to be common, but seems getting harder to find each year..
One year I had a vacant 8" pot w/ soil..I picked up a packet of Mimosa seed for .10 in my grocery shop..for an experiment, I tossed seeds in the pot, watered and left outside..by early summer, I had a pretty 2' plant growing. This is until Bugs bunny's relatives got in my yard and decided it was yummy..the following morning every leaf was gone, chewed to the bottom..LOL..Toni

Can you tell me how stop the seeds from germinating? They are very hard to pull up and pop up everywhere!

There are two problems.
1. Getting the seed to germinate. Chipping and soaking is the best answer.
2. Getting the germinated seedlings to survive - bright light, fresh air and warm temps are all essential. If possible set the seedlings out of doors in partial shade. Never allow to dry out.
If cold - northern winter - use artificial light, heating and ventilator fan. Not easy.
- Ian.

I had an interesting experience as a first time mimosa planter, and can confirm a lot of what is said in this thread.

Points of interest:
-Seeds that did not germinate are likely stubborn, not dead. I had some planted 4 MONTHS and suddenly sprouted after major neglect. I was shocked. I believe HEAT (80-90) was the trick
-I tried all sorts of methods, soaking, chipping, light, dark, etc. I cannot determine what is best. However, I can say I had better luck germinating seeds in COIR than a peat moss seed starter.
-Do not let seedlings drop below 70 deg. They hate it, will turn yellow and drop their leaves.
-Transplanting and survival is easy. They handle it well. However, here is a very interesting tip: use 1-1-1 ratio of peat / compost / vermiculite (or perlite).

Compost was a mix of mostly steer manure and some chicken poo. But all together comprised of 1/3rd of the ratio as mentioned above.

When it came time to transplant for me, I used several soils as an experiment. Commercial potting soil, dirt from outside, coir, and my custom poo mix. There is a HUGE comparison... all options sucked (little to no growth) but in my compost mix as mentioned above, they THRIVED.

I can get them to germinate about 50% of the time by chipping the edge of the seed (with nail clippers), then soaking them in straight water until they expand. Once they've expanded, I plant them in the ground.

I love those little guys (I say little, because I've only had one grow big, like 6 feet long, once. Usually I can't get them over about 8 inches tall before they give up and die).

I'd love to get some more seeds, though.

Do Mimosa pudica seeds need to be black cause mine are like the sesame seed color and they won't germenate

Will my seeds grow if there this color

For the best source for information and answers to your questions about Mimosa pudica is to google and contact the TickleMe Plant company as they are the world famous source about TickleMe Plant and even have a book all about its care and 20 or so different experiments you can do with your plants. They sell cool kits to grow them...also known as The Zombie Plant...that plays dead when you touch it.