Just a follow-up note regarding the smoke treatment. I found this on seedman.com and wanted everyone to see it and comment:
Jim Johnson, Seedman is now the North America Distributor for the CAPE "Instant Smoke Plus" Seed Primer that we use in our own greenhouses. We find we receive significantly better germination results when
we use this primer on Musa, palms, tropical, wildflower and other types of seeds. (underlining added) find it here:
Cape Seed Germination Primer
I am also experimenting with GA3 - did a 5 day soak in 250 ppm GA3 solution on Balbisiana and Darjeeling. Planted them 2 days ago and will let you know how they fare. I did not nick the seeds, but may try this too in my next batch to see if it makes any difference.