kousa from seed?

I finally got my hands on some kousa fruits!!! I know some here have planted seeds, but what were the results? What are some "best practices" to ensure that some germinate?

basic cold-stratification. i usually do them in a protected pot outside over the winter and have very high germination rates. fridge would probably work fine too.

greg mosser wrote:i usually do them in a protected pot outside over the winter

So would this be a pot of soil buried in heavy mulch?

i usually wire a piece of plastic with some slits in it to let in some moisture, but keeps inquisitive rodents out, over the top of the pot for protection. i wouldn't mulch it heavily because you don't want it too protected from temperature swings - you want it to freeze and thaw a few times before spring. i suppose just planting the seeds directly in the ground could work too, but i find it easier to transplant from the pot. some other seeds need more protection from mice than this, but kousa seeds don't seem to smell too enticing.

Greg, do you clean the seeds any, or just use the dried fruits? Also should I expect a great deal of variation in fruit quality in one plant to another?

i clean the seeds. usually with my mouth. i don't think i would let the fruits dry out. there is a fair amount of variation between cultivars - hard to know what to expect from offspring.