While searching out germination information on this plant, I found mixed results; about half of the sources said to germinate with light, the other half said they required darkness. So, I did a test.

(Indoors) On the same day I started two baggies of seeds from the same package, and set one in each situation. The ones kept in darkness germinated in four days - the ones in light haven't yet.

Thought I'd pass this info along...

Thanks for the experiment.
Now will the others germinate if kept in dark now?

I moved them into the dark space, so we'll see. The other seeds I tried light, and later switched to dark because they didn't germinate did so right away, so I believe they will.

Thanks for doing that test! I should try the same experiment with pansy seeds, since I'm finding conflicting information on those, too.
Where did you get your nemesia seeds?

Trade seeds - I'm not sure who the original supplier was. I'll look and see if I can find out for you.

Pansies - definitely dark. I've started at least 5 varieties this way so far.

Well, for the record, I came across conflicting information on pansy starting, so I tried some just very lightly covered....and they germinated faster than the ones I covered more heavily. Both were seeds harvested last year. I also came across seed starting information that said they didn't need to be covered at all, just pressed into the soil. But I haven't tried that yet.

Cool!

I just tried them dark...took 4 days. They must be ones that light or dark doesn't really matter.

thanks for the info.. I haven't grown any yet

Thank you for the trade, Allison.

no problem.. still didn't sow mine yet... such a slacker this year!!!

This is the web site I found when I was double checking how to grow pansies:
http://archive.suite101.com/ar...
And here's the excerpt where they discuss whether or not to provide darkness:
"Light.
Pansy seeds do not need darkness to germinate as often mistakenly assumed, but as opposed to other surface sown seeds, they do not require light either.
This misunderstanding is probably caused by the use of separate, unlit, propagation chambers in the greenhouse industry.
While pansy seeds do not require light, pansy seedlings must have bright light immediately after germination.
You can place the flats under fluorescent lights 24 hours per day, but since this may raise the soil temperature another option is to wrap the flats in plastic and place aside for the first 4-5 days. Either way, it is recommended to provide plenty of light for the seedlings once they start to grow."

FWIW.

I have had a lot of luck WS'ing pansy seeds in the past

Yes, I'm sure they lend themselves well to WS'ing. I get a lot of volunteers without even trying!

I think I WS these last year but without much success. Perhaps I need to try this again.....do you think I can WS them as annuals (to be started soon)?

Ha, ha, do you mean the Nemesia that this thread started with, or the pansies we wandered off onto?

Nemesia strumosa is a hardy annual, I believe - so I wouldn't see why not, except that perhaps it may require a long growing time before it blooms.