I have had some experience in two different places in NM. First at about 5000 feet and then 6500. In the first case, I planted about 100 trees around the property (not an orchard). Moisture average only about 8 inches per year. With regular watering, many grew pretty fast up to 6" per year. Without irrigation, they died. Worms were a constant problem both new growth and trunks. Bark beetle infestation killed nearly all of them one year when they were 12 to 20 feet tall. Second place had them scattered over 40 acres naturally. They varied from small to mature (25 to 30 feet tall). About 13 inches annual moisture. No irrigation. Typical growth a couple inches a year. Again, bark beetles wiped them out both young and old. Now nearly all are gone. Junipers survive-often inter-grown. I never made any serious effort to harvest nuts but they are supposed to be one of the most complete nutrition sources there is. Native people over the ages used them to sustain life over winter when gardens did not produce and game was scarce as they store well. A fair number of locals collect from natural stands every fall. You can tell a year in advance which trees are going to yield. I would be inclined to put cloth or plastic on the ground under trees likely to yield well in advance of nuts starting to drop. Many years ago I found a book in an Albuquerque library on these trees and there nuts. Don't remember any details about the book.
Yes they are slow to mature. Anecdotal observations that different trees behave somewhat differently. Some seem to grown considerably faster than others. Some seem to nut more frequently. Some have heavier crop than others. I have no idea how to differentiate varieties.
Bottom line, I would scout out naturally growing stands and monitor them for next season nutting rather than try to plant for harvest.
