Those are sweet! I love the red stems.
Is this all your operation, Sluice?

Josh

Yep, these are beauties.
This is a friend's greenhouse.

I'm also trying togerminate some seeds of this tree, but I am afraid of not being successful, had some failures in growing similar sprecies like calitropsis and sequaiadendron, would someone be so kind as to give me some basic tips or advices?
thanks in advance!

Save me three will ya please?
When it cools off, shoot me an email that you're sending.

Thanks Nate!

Dax

These seeds were germinated in a mix of 2 parts potting soil to 1 part perlite.
The tray is a wood frame with coarse screen on the bottom for ample airflow.
Tray was filled with mix to a depth of about 2 inches.
Seeds were sprinkled on top of the mix, and then covered with a very thin additional layer of mix (1-2mm).
Keep slightly moist!

sluice (or Nate?)

Here is another idea. I have talked to the arborist at the arboretum here, and he said that he can collect some seeds from the trees here. If I can get some I could send them to you, and you can grow them, and then send me a few and offer out the rest as you wish. I am not so much interested in the blue color, as I am in the vigor of these trees in our climate here. The trees here are amazing growers. In the 80 or so years they have been growing here, they have outgrown Norway spruce, and every other conifer, except SOME of the white pine. I say, wow!

Also interesting is the variability. In one area there are 4 large trees, and each one looks very different from the others--really, really stunning variation in twigs and "texture" or something. I have not really analyzed exactly what the variations are, but if you look from a distance, you might think you are looking at distinctly different cultivars, or even species.

Maybe I could get a picture or two. They are growing in tight quarters and have clear trunks, so close pics of the foliage would be difficult. But I could get a long shot of the crowns of a couple of them.

--spruce

spruceman, you have email.

What seed origin?

Looks like one in the middle in the last pic is diseased / dying, might be best pulled out so it can't infect others.

Resin

Would love a couple of those in my yard, they are real beauties! Too bad I'm Z5 so no go here, but lovely trees!

Nate,
your soil works very good. Earlier I used pure fallen spruce needles also with perlite even till 50 %. If there is neighbouring spruce forests, try this. Pine needles are not quite good, just spruce.
In some years you will have a nice black soil, that needs only some new spruce needles to refresh for a new seedbed.

Zsolt

Resin, the seed was collected by Jerry Morris, I will check on the origin. Thanks for pointing that out about the one in the middle.

Pardak, arizona cypress do very well here in Z5B. If you'd like to try pushing that Z5, you're more than welcome.

Zsolt, the spruce needle idea sounds intriguing!

Resin, I had this bed mixed up with another one. I was told this seed was collected by Alan Taylor, from a mountain range in southern New Mexico, not too far from the Chiricahua. The other bed is seed collected by Jerry from the Albuquerque area.

The Cypress at the Chiricahua Monument are all of the rough-bark variety. While I haven't been to all the spots around those mountains/National Forest outside of the Monument, assumed all the cypress in that vicinity would also be rough-bark. Are these seedlings of rough-bark variety?

I am definitely interested in one as well. Looks like good growth on those. Do those grow outdoors in Colorado?

Yep; cypresses in or near Chiricahua are C. arizonica.

No cypresses native near Albuquerque. I'd suspect any planted there are more likely to be C. glabra, but C. arizonica might also be grown there.

Resin

Scotjute, I'm going to defer to Resin. I can get close up pics if that helps.
Bunkers, yep these grow in Colorado. I've got you down for one. Here's a pic of one not too far from where I live in someone's front yard. A super nice columnar form.
I've got two in my own yard as well. They've also got quite a few at Denver Botanic Gardens.