Hi, I'm looking for a couple of seeds. I have clivia seeds to trade...seeds from a variegated clivia, and greenish flower clivia... John

Let's make sure we're talking about the same tree because our more commonly seen monkey puzzle here in the PNW, araucaria araucana, isn't difficult at all. The seeds do take about 18 months to ripen on the tree, but germinate in 30-60 days at room temperature. Sow point down, just pushed into the soil about the depth of the seed (wide end just at the surface). My neighbor sowed seeds one each to a houseplant pot for no fuss germination although some seeds did take closer to 4 months than one or two. And be careful here, because these get enormous in our climate in fairly short order - they take up a lot of space and are painful to brush up against when mowing or gardening. I think you either love 'em, or hate 'em - not that it matters but they are not my favorite landscape tree :)

I've also noticed more male "puzzles" than female specimens. Yes, the females litter the ground with seeds for an extended period of time. One puzzle owner gets a hobby grower to clean the yard from these seeds. I notice that laurel seeds germinate with ease in random locations. I actually keep some seedlings because they are deer resistant. But puzzle seeds seem to require help from gardeners. I have planted a small BC-grown Puzzle tree that is being compared to a Dinosaur tree (Wollemia nobilis). The Dinosaur tree started growing at a later date but is faster, especially in warm, dry summer weather. I'll hand out cones to elementary school science classes if the tree produces. That might help spread Dinosaur trees in Greater Victoria if they do well. I'm assuming they do well here but time will tell. We need a full La Nina to El Nino cycle to confirm. Well, it did start off with a La Nina spring. This spring was good for me because I could move many plants later and the summer started with more moisture. The little rain we get in summer was timely. So I'm happy. But sensitive rhodos were lost in hot weather. I hope that you don't loose plants in the dry heat. I used to prep for frost at our latitudes in Ontario because frost was a few weeks away. The first weeks of Sept would bring frost... and important ones by summer's end. Over here in Greater Victoria my concern is how some plants or trees cope with summer drought. I no longer get big thunderstorms with 50 mm in a day. Our rain falls during winter but I can strangely make use of it by growing things like kale. The plan is to adapt the yard for all-season gardening. There's a lot of cemented patio surface to get around so rubber boots are no longer required for winter. Plants & trees are planted in linear rows for ease of summer irrigation. No lawn space because summers demand too much lawn watering. I rather use less resources, time & energy growing laurels, photinia & palm trees. I welcome you to visit the garden when you drive down to Victoria. Cheers Here is a link that might be useful: Male (mature) Monkey Puzzle

Probably won't be hardy there if you are in Zone 7. Only monkey puzzle has been a long-established feature even here in the Seattle area. A small number of Parana pine are being grown in this area by aficianodos but there is no history of long-term success here. When you look at the tree it doesn't have the structural firmness of the fierce monkey puzzle, making it seem comparatively delicate. However, China fir doesn't either and it has grown 90 ft. tall here.