Thanks Ken. I figured that it would get much harder as they aged. One of the first things that I read was to expect a lot of the crop to not make it. That is why I have about 300 seedlings going right now. I plan on eventually planting 30 plus on my parents property and putting a bunch on my own property. If many more survive I have set up with the highway department to donate them so they can put them along the highway that runs through our town. I would be happy if 15 percent survived honestly. I have a bunch of other seed in the fridge that has been there for awhile for some more rare weeping and dwarf trees. I wanted to have a go at the easier spruce, fir and sequoia seeds first. I appreciate all the advice from those with much more experience than myself and will probably be back often with questions..

Some seeds do require light to germinate and some seeds require complete darkness to germinate, depending on the Genus and species of plant. I have found most conifers pretty easy to germinate and I usually surface-sow the seeds after soaking the seeds in water for 24 to 48 hours (with a water change if the water discolors). After a day or two, most conifer seeds will sink to the bottom of a container of water if they are viable, but not always. My Pinus aristata seeds did not sink and they germinated just fine. Since Picea seeds are pretty small, I would just sow them as stated above. Dr. Dirr says that no pretreatment is necessary, but a short cold/moist pretreatment probably unifies seed germination. Don't give up if the seeds don't germinate during their "supposed" ideal germination time, but you may not have good seed so don't be too disappointed if you get no germination from this seed. Good luck, Mike

I must be getting old. I went to search for this topic and realized that I'd tried a similar operation a few years back. Well, I'll give it another go w/a month in the fridge. I've got plenty of seeds, so my odds are better. No answer needed on this one, for anyone reading. -James

Coach: Years ago I collected a large amount of seed for a Norway spruce provenance trial done by a U MD professor. He told me that when the squirrels cut down the cones, they are good for seed collection. What you should do, is put the cones in a dry place with maybe three hours of sun. Too much sun could dry the cones too fast. If the seeds are not already mature, they will mature in the cones. You will have to protect the cones from critters who will like to tear them apart to get to the seeds. When the cones are dry, the scales will open, and the seeds will fall out with a little shaking. NS seeds need to be "stratified" to germinate. I am not sure of the exact instructions, but if I remember right, placing them in a jar with a moistened paper towel or something, and placing them in the refrigerator, at something like 40 degrees or below for something like 90 days, will probably do the job. But, maybe a web search can produce better instructions. --Spruce