Honey Locust Seeds - how long to soak?

I recently read an older thread here about soaking honey locust seeds to scarify them. I have some seeds from a thornless variety that I would like to plant. I boiled the water and inserted the seeds when the temperature fell to around 190F (which was pretty quick!). The water has long since cooled to room temperature. Only one of the seeds has started to swell and has not yet reached 3-times its initial size (it is probably at 2x right now). I know I should let them continue to soak. However, do I need to reheat the water or add more hot water while they soak, or should I leave them as is and be patient.

Thanks!

For mine I scarified the edge with a file, then soaked for about 12 hours. They all bloated to about 2x the dry size, and germination was about 75%. If it's been 24 hours with no bloating I would try filing them a little, doesn't take much just run them along the file until the color changes to a lighter shade of brown.

good luck

Thanks, Osker. It has only been about 4-5 hours. They have all turned a lighter color brown, but only 2 (now) have swelled any. While the first one swelled but retained its shape, this second one looks something like an amoeba trying to divide itself. LOL.

I think I soaked mine overnight after the hot water treatment and had high germination. So, 8-12 hours maybe.

I also did mine over night and had a high germination rate (90%). I only planted those that swelled and turned lighter. The ones that didn't I resoaked in more hot water.

Thank you all for the ideas and encouragement. By the next morning, some of the seeds had swelled, so I planted those. I tried filing a little on some of the ones that were left, and started over with more boiling water. I started with approx. 27 seeds and am now down to 2 that have not swelled, and one that is starting to. The rest are planted. From the original batch planted the morning of 9/16, I have some that are already sprouting!

Also planted some black locust seeds last Saturday. Boiled 6 and "nicked" 5 others with a hobby knife. Out of the "nicked" set, three are sprouting.

In about 90 days, I will hopefully have some Tulip Poplar seeds ready to plant.

Thanks again!

Another update... as of this morning, I have the following germination/sprouting rates:

Black Locusts, all planted 9/15:
4/5 (seeds nicked with hobby knife)
1/6 (seeds placed in boiled water; removed after water cooled below 100F)

Thornless Honey Locusts, planted 9/16-9/22:
14/27 (seeds placed in hot water and soaked; includes two seeds that never swelled)

The Honeys that have sprouted so far were all planted 9/18 or before... the others took at least 98 hours (and 5 hot water treatments) to swell and have not really had time to sprout yet. Also, the Honeys that were swollen after only 15 hours and one treatment (planted 9/16) have shown no progress. Based on what I have so far, it is best to try the hot water once or twice and let the seeds soak for 22-24 hours minimum.

Also, one of the Blacks and three of the Honeys are starting to "spread" and show new leaves.

All are planted in 5oz. Dixie cups with one hole in the bottom, and in organic garden soil that includes humus and a mix of cattle and poultry manure.

Thought I would share for anyone curious or anyone who has never tried this before but is thinking about it, and maybe happens to find this thread on a google search (which is how I found this site). It has been fun so far.

Thanks for all the info everyone. I'm trying this now with seeds I "wild-harvested" from the landscaped parking lot at my work. All this really helps.