Only Abies fargesii out of those will be reliably hardy, and should do well. It is also a very attractive tree.

Picea brachytyla could be hardy, if you were able to get seed from the north end of the species' range, but most sources in cultivation are from southern areas of Yunnan and southern Sichuan, and won't be hardy for you.

Resin

Resin, thanks for the input. I will try to get my hands on some A. fargesii then. Is it the cold hardiness or other climate/growth requirements that make the other species less likely to do well for me?

I did "jump the gun" on buying a P. brachytyla. I believe it is grafted onto P. abies. It survived last winter wonderfully well - though last winter was uncharacteristically mild. This winter the lowest it has experienced so far is 14F/-10C. It put out a good 12"/30.5cm of growth this past summer. I love the solid white stomata on the backside of the needles; it's a wonderful bicolor effect.

" Is it the cold hardiness or other climate/growth requirements that make the other species less likely to do well for me?"

Lack of cold hardiness. They come from further south (southern Sichuan, Yunnan; 26 to 30 deg. N), where winters at high altitude, although very snowy, don't get the prolonged severe cold that more northern mountains get. By contrast, A. fargesii is from northern Sichuan north to Gansu (32 to 35 deg. N) and gets a lot colder.

Resin

Resin, thanks for clearing that up for me! I will definitely look for A. fargesii to add to my collection.

I contacted the nursery where I purchased my P. brachytyla (Greer Gardens) to see about its provenance; their catalog lists it as hardy to USDA z5: -20F/-28.9C. Mr. Greer wrote back saying he does not know where his original tree was from but his stock was supposed to be hardier than other P. brachytyla in cultivation. I will hope he is correct for the sake of my plant's long term survival!

Hope so! If he's right, it'll likely be one of the Joseph Rock collections from Gansu, close to the species' northern limits. Most of what's around are E H Wilson collections from Sichuan and George Forrest collections from Yunnan, but a few places have Rock's plants.

Resin