Also, plant many... It is a survival advantage if different seeds from same plant will yield plants with different growth rate and other such characteristics.. That way, if for example some of the plants are slow growing and others fast, maybe if a caterpillar comes it eats the fast growing, but the slow growing will survive, or the inverse, maybe the faster growing will be able to reach the sunlight while the slow growing will end up being buried due to different movements on the surface shifting the soil. Or some might be slightly more drought resistant while others more cold resistant, etc (just random examples but you get what I mean).
So sprout many different seeds, and you'll see some will thrive better than others. I had maybe 10 sprouted acuminatas almost 5 years ago, now I'm left with 2, one is quite small and the other looks beautiful and healthy. All were grown under same conditions.