others will recommend store , but here is post with much discussion---seed grown

ron

welcome kat ...

seems like a pretty easy answer ...go to the forest in fall.. after the pine cones fall off ... and gather up some fresh seed ...

not only do you not have to pay for them ... you get a free hike out of it ..

put the cones in a paper bag ... to dry .. and when the seeds fall out ... plant them ... just try to go with other natures schedule ...

conifers are trees .. they are not house plants .. so if you try to grow a rather local plant.. then it should be able to all be done outdoors.. where trees belong ... they are not houseplants ...

when you get a couple to actually sprout ... then we can deal with pots and what not ... lets not get ahead of ourselves.. and just confuse you ...

when seeding them .. the most important thing in the seed tray ... would be the media ... lets us know if you get that far ...

even better.. if you just cleaned a small area in the yard .. and did it all in mother earth ... it would probably all be easier ...

if you tell us where you are.. big city name... we might be able to suggest the easier species to grow ..

ken

Plantkiller_il_5

Very interesting post, thanks!

Ken, thanks for your response! I was under the impression that seeds are really hard to find, since the animals get to them first or they just fall out of the cones. I will try to collect some and see what happens

I live in Denver, CO.

Do you think it would be okay to start a tree inside and then return it to the wild? Or is that bad for the environment?

they are not houseplants ..

Hi Ken, you've already said this in your original comment, so not sure why you feel the need to state it again, since I asked you about planting a tree outside. Usually plants grown outside aren't considered house plants :) Unless you think that starting seedlings inside makes them house plants somehow..

If the seeds naturally germinate outdoors.....as most conifers do.......then there is really no need to grow them inside at all. You just tend to accelerate the germination process slightly but since conifers from seed is a years long project anyway, you aren't gaining much.

@gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)

Thank you, I am aware that they can grow just fine outside. But so do most vegetables, yet people start the seeds inside anyway.

I'm very new on this forum, would you say that a lot of people on here are growing purists? As you can see, I'm not going to fit in if that's the case haha I like experimenting and having

It is very satisfying growing trees from seed. I did one of these experiments a few years ago.

I ordered seeds from Sheffield’s (which were a mislabeled species). Others have been happy with their seed stock, but I ended up with a bunch of seedlings not suited to my zone.

If possible, a little outdoor propagation bed (lots of diy instruction on the web) will take some variables off of your plate (aka make it easier). If you‘re set on local/native species, then that would probably be the easiest approach.

However, there is something interesting about controlling all of the variables yourself indoors. You begin to feel like a real deal horticulturist as you tinker with planting media, airflow, light intensity & color temperatures, and diluted feedings. You’ll lose some, but the gained knowledge is more than worthwhile.

I can't add much to what's already been said but yes, grow native trees for your area so once planted, you can watch them grow over the years.

Here's a picture of one of the spruce trees I started from seed during last February. This Picea mariana seed came from Sheffields.

Starting seeds inside has nothing to do with 'house plants', tree nurseries do it all the time. Doing so doesn't make that much of a difference in places where the season is long with mild springs like the PNW. But in my neck of the woods, you can add a couple of months to the growing season by starting seed indoors, when it's way too cold outside to do anything else. This one was already 5-6 inches tall when finally placed outside around the end of May.

Now 11" tall. It's still in the pot although I have it's twin planted in the yard. :-)

If you want a tree like you’d see in the forests of Colorado then do search on native conifers Colorado to see what suits your fancy. How much room do you have for a full sized tree?

tj

I'm very new on this forum, would you say that a lot of people on here are growing purists?

We got all kinds here .. ALL KINDS

and in case you didn't know ( I didn't ) here is where seeds come from

seed pics

ron

www.sheffields.com sells consistently good or excellent seeds. I buy from them whenever I can. (They don't have everything but) they have almost everything.

I start everything indoors, and I grow many conifers. GardenGal and Ken are just what they are. There are a lot of good people on GardenWeb, too. Conifers will do surprisingly well under T5 lamps about 27" away (I seem to recall). So I start them whenever I want, And, I move them outside in the spring--first to a protected area that doesn't get full sun. My experience is that some want full sun almost immediately after they are adjusted to the outdoors (even when they are tiny). Some want partial sun. Some want morning sun. Some want afternoon. (Seriously, I wish there was a one size fits all.) Anyway, Good luck!