Howdy, I still have these - not for seeds though - unless if they are rare seeds. Nothing has sparked my interest yet. Adguy, they would not branch yet - they are slow to branch, unless if you snip the top off - which I don't advise anyway, at this young and tender age. Mine never brown - I would take them out of the direct sun, or at least move it a little further away so that it's bright light, but not direct. With the longer days now, they may be getting more than 2 hours now. The greenhouse sounds like a great idea - as long as it is heated. Keep me posted!

Aracaria Araucana is the cold hardiest species--down to zone 7. Supposedly there are a few planted in my area but they are quite rare and you have to go searching for one being grown in the home garden. Years ago, a local garden center was selling nice ones for 10.00 and I passed it by only to regret it. I have since purchased one from eBay. No, it was not huge originally, but it has started to branch. I might eventually put it into the ground, but right now it's containerized and goes into a cold greenhouse in the winter. They all prefer cool, moist climates so resent excessive heat as much as cold--so Ireland is kind to them. You could grow one in Michigan but would need to protect it in typical zone 5 winters. I don't know how they would do as a houseplant in the winter under warm, indoor conditions though.

I see trees in Victoria sold under false pretense also. Since Washingtonia palms are cheaper than Trachycarpus (hardy) palms, some nurseries in Victoria will sell them. People see cheaper trees and purchase them. For the life of them, some can't see the difference between the two. Washingtonia is marginal and causes confusion when it is lost while Trachycarpus is mint next door. Some gardeners quit on some exotics because they have failed. -Because they have simply planted the wrong thing. It's like San Fran has palms but they don't cultivate coconuts. People assume that nurseries will sell the right stuff. Many plants in Victoria are sold with the wrong label. Some nurseries don't even know that they have false labels because they don't know their plants. They just sell them. Victoria is great for granny plants or English Gardening but I find them very inadequate with exotics. Shopping for plants in Vancouver is quite interesting. There I can chat with nursery people who know about the latest plants and exotics that can be grown in zone 8. Prices are also better. I know a hobbyist here in Vic who grows Puzzle trees from local seeds and the nurseries double the price on his baby Puzzles. He also grows Windmill palms from local seeds. Some in Victoria think that these palms have sterile seeds. Probably because they don't realize that it may take 3 months to germinate. Many in Victoria don't experiment. Sometimes you must learn for yourself. I was told (before I had moved here) by folks in Ontario that there were no Sequoia specimens in BC. The plant world is so big that it's amazing what we don't know. Even about the zones and possibilities within our own country. I show photos of the BC coast to people in southern Ontario and they are shocked or think that the pictures cannot be true. Is BC that far from the rest of Canada? Maybe the information age will draw us closer? Cheers Here's a garden in Victoria with proper exotics: Here is a link that might be useful:

According to Wikipedia's article on Araucaria araucana (Monkey-puzzle), they are hardy way down to -4° F!!! Given that, you'll have absolutely no problem growing it long term, assuming you provide it with the proper care.