I've been trying to find the best way to germinate yangmei seeds.
Ronnie Demler on FB wrote up a nice guide on sprouting old yangmei seeds.
He goes in detail on how to crack the seeds open and get fast germination results.
I'm unable to post the link - but it's on the FB yangmei group.
44% for old seeds is not bad at all.
The seeds I've gotten in from recent imports though are all cold stratified and should after experimentation maybe just be put in soil? They are fresh and so the results of people who have gotten them have turned out really good without treatment. I believe this is due to the freshness and cold strat already being applied. My results are still inconclusive, but I did crack some like he did and am trialing to see if it's better. To be honest, I'm not sure as the cost - benefit analysis may favor leaving the endocarp on due to risk of cracking or damaging the seed (for the fresher seeds coming into the US). It seems by cracking the seed with these fresh new ones in the US, you're only saving a matter of weeks, not months, so in the end, it's better to wait as seeds may become damaged.
We will see.