With patience, Colorado blue spruce can be grown from seed after collecting and drying pinecones to obtain the seeds. In spring, soak the seeds in water for 24 hours. Wrap the seeds in a moist paper towel and store them in the refrigerator for six weeks.

The Colorado blue spruce is one of the most popular evergreens. Place the paper bag in a warm, dry space for a few days until the pine cones open and the seeds fall into the bag. Shake any clinging seeds from the pine cones and remove them from the bag. Store the bag of seeds in the refrigerator until spring or until you need them.

Most male strobili of blue spruce are rose red when they emerge from the buds, but on occasional trees they appear yellowish-green. A single male strobilus, containing 100 sporophylls, may produce about 370,000 pollen grains. The female strobili consist of 175 to 225 scales and thus have a potential to produce 350 to 450 seeds per cone.