Introduction. Many fruit trees with ahard seed coat exhibit seed dormancy, posing problems for theirregeneration. Vitex doniana, an indigenous multipurposebut threatened fruit and vegetable tree that supports the livelihoodsof many households in West Africa, is a typical example. Materialsand methods. In our research, we evaluated five dormancy-breakingtreatments. We tested the effects of sulphuric acid at 95% concentration(T1); 3 d sun-drying + 48 h soaking in tap water (T2); 3 d alternationof 8 h sun-drying + 1 h soaking in tap water (T3); 2 weeks sun-dryingwith regular watering in the daytime (T4); and physical shock (T5).These treatments were compared with two controls (T0 and Tc), withseeds from two different sources. The germination percentage, meangermination time, time to first germination and time to thresholdgermination (20%) were compared; the seedling height, diameter and biomassproduced were monitored for 15 weeks. We used generalised linear modelsand correlation tests to compare the effects of the various treatmentson germination and seedling growth. Results and discussion.T3 significantly enhanced seed germination in V. doniana (72%after 12 months). T4 best promoted homogeneity in germination (p < 0.01),followed by T3. The best seedling growth was obtained with T4 andT3. Alternation of sun-drying followed by soaking of seeds, a techniquewith almost no cost, improved seed germination in V. doniana and,in 33 d, just over 1 month, 20% germination can be achieved. Vitex doniana isa fast-growing species (at the nursery stage), in contrast to thecommon opinion. Conclusion. Our method should be further investigatedto assess the adequate soaking and drying length so as to speedup germination and reach homogenous cohorts.