i would try to find pines growing locally.. and harvest cones from those ... at least you will know they can take the native UK weather ...

UK is kinda diverse ... how about a little more specificity???

ken

Thanks for your reply Ken I live in Cheltenham South west I don't mind going out and harvesting pines but I would really like to know the species that I'm harvesting from that's why I would prefer to by seeds

Several pines you could try - Scots Pine, Corsican Pine, Stone Pine, Maritime Pine, Monterey Pine would all do well, as would many others if you had access to seeds.

Resin

if you pick up a cone ... mr resin can ID the plant from the cone.. 99% of the time.. ergo .. you will know what you are growing.. and get locally sourced seed ...

not everyone has a budget .. i was making the free option available ... not only will you get some good exercise walking around a pine forest .. if they have such in england ... but you can get some free seed.. from a tree that you know thrives locally ... and that is a great plant.. to learn on ...

once you have perfected.. seed, stratification, media, potting, wintering over, etc ... then you can go pay a buck a piece for dead seed and try growing the exotics ...

ken