Monday, March 13, 2017 / by Kevin Schumacher
Native Colorado Plants and Trees for Gardening and Landscaping
With Colorado's fickle mother nature it can be difficult to grow and keep plants alive in the intermittent weather conditions. Here is a list of Colorado native wildflowers, shrubs and trees that you can use for your gardening and landscaping this coming spring!
Many of these plants will be available at local nurseries or are easy to buy seeds online. If you are new to our area or just looking for a way to connect with local Colorado gardeners and landscapers to ask specific questions there are events all around Northern Colorado that are focused on local gardening or you can ask your local nursery.
Here is a list of gardening and landscaping events during the month of March around NoCo.
- March 14th - 6:00pm: Vegetable Gardening, Loveland Public Library (Loveland)
- March 14th - 12:00pm: A Wandering Botanist, Loveland Public Library (Loveland)
- March 18th - 10:00am: Seed Starting Made Simple, Gardens on Spring Creek (Fort Collins)
Information for native plants found through: USDA Online Plants Database.
Native Wildflowers
Here is a list of just some of our beautiful wildflowers native to Colorado that can be used in gardening and landscaping. It's by no means a full list of all our wildflowers because there are hundreds of wildflowers native to our amazing state!
Common Name | Preferred Environment | Elevation |
Mountain Iris | Moist montane meadows | 6,000-9,500 feet |
Rocky Mountain Penstemon | Dry; Sunny | 7,000-10,500 feet |
Colorado Columbine | Shaded; Moist to dry; Rocky Soils | 6,000-10,000 feet |
Mountain Lupine | Dry; Subalpine areas | 8,000- 11,500 feet |
Yellow Evening Primrose |
Sun/ part shade; Dry soils | To 7,000 feet |
Aspen Daisy | Moist to wet; Montane to sub-alpine areas | Low Elevation |
Pasqueflower | Well-drained soil; Montane to tree line areas | Dependent on species |
Monkshood | Moist to wet; Montane to subalpine areas | 2,000-9,500 feet |
Mountain Harebell | Montane to alpine meadows and aspen grove areas | To 12,000 feet |
Tall Chiming-bells | Moist to wet; Subalpine to lower alpine streams | Low Elevation |
Alpine Forget-me-not | Moist to dry; Rocky soils to dry meadows | Adaptive, Highly Varied |
Blackeyed Susan | Moist, well drained soils; Sunny | 5,000-9,500 feet |
Indian Blanketflower | Moist to dry soils | 1,300-9,000 feet |
Rocky Mountain Bee Plant | Rocky soils; Moist to dry | Adaptive, Highly Varied |
Greenthread | Dry soils; Dependent on species | Dependent on Species |
Purple Coneflower | Moist to dry soils; Sun/ part shade | To 6,000 feet |
Butterfly Weed | Dry soils; Sun/ part shade | To 7,500 feet |
Rocky Mountain Penstemon | Sun/ part shade; Dry soils | To 7,500 feet |
Poppy Mallow | Moist to dry soils; Sun/ part shade | To 7,000 feet |
Here is a list of elevations in our Northern Colorado towns so that you can take this into consideration if you are looking to grow these flowers in your landscaping. Please know that this may not be accurate to your home, but if you want to know the exact elevation of your home you can look up your elevation by address here.
- Loveland: 4,982 feet
- Windsor: 4,797 feet
- Fort Collins: 5,003
- Greeley: 4,658 feet
- Longmont: 4,984 feet
- Boulder: 5,430 feet
Native Shrubs
Common Name | Preferred Environment | Elevation Range |
Rocky Mountain Maple | Sunny/ partly shaded; Montane areas | 5,000-10,500 feet |
Curl-leaf Mountain Mahogany | Sunny; Dry; Drought tolerant | 4,500-9,000 feet |
Wild Plum | Sunny; Moist to dry; Rocky soils | 4,500-8,500 feet |
Western Chokecherry | Sunny; Moist to dry; Montane areas | 4,500-8,500 feet |
Rocky Mountain Willow | Sunny; Moist to wet; Montane areas | 6,000-10,500 feet |
Apache Plume | Sunny; Moist to dry soils | 3.500-8,000 feet |
Golden Currant | Sunny; Moist to dry; Well-drained soils | 4,000-10,000 feet |
Silvery Leadplant | Sunny; Moist to dry; Drought tolerant | 3,500-7,500 feet |
Fourwing Saltbush | Sunny; Moist to dry soils | 4,000-8,000 feet |
Juniper | Sun/ partly shaded; Well-drained soils | 5,000-10,000 feet |
Native Trees
Here is a list of just some of our beautiful trees that you can use in your spring landscaping!
Common Name | Preferred Environment | Elevation |
Lanceleaf Cottonwood | Sun/ part shade; Moist to wet | To 7,500 feet |
Narrowleaf Cottonwood | Sun/ part shade; Moist to wet | To 8,500 feet |
Plains Cottonwood | Sun/ part shade; Moist to wet | To 6,500 feet |
Ponderosa Pine | Sun/ part shade; Moist to dry | To 9,000 feet |
Blue Spruce | Well drained, Sandy soils; Moist to wet | 6,700-11,500 feet |
White Fir | Sun/ part shade; Moist to dry | 7,900-10,200 feet |
Subalpine Fir | Cold, high elevation forests | 8,000-12,000 feet |
Rocky Mountain Maple | Moist to dry; Sun/ part shade | 3,000-10,000 feet |
Rocky Mountain Juniper | Rocky soils | 5,000-9,000 feet |
Quaking Aspen | Moist to dry, Sandy and gravelly soil | 6,500-11,500 feet |
Pinon Pine | Open woodland, Dry rocky soils | 5,200-9,000 feet |
Peachleaf Willow | Moist to wet | 3,500 to 7,500 feet |
Lodgepole Pine | Well drained soils | 6,000-11,000 feet |
Limber Pine | Nutrient-poor soils, rocky soils | 5,000-12,000 feet |
Gambel Oak | Areas of low precipitation | 4,000 to 8,500 feet |
Engelmann Spruce | High, cold; Moist | 8,000-11,000 feet |
Douglas Fir | Rocky soils | 6,000-9,500 feet |
Chokecherry | Moist to dry; various soil types | 5,000-10,000 |
Bristlecone Pine | Cold, dry; Rocky soils | 9,200-11,800 feet |
Boxelder | Riparian, floodplains; Moist to wet | Adaptive, highly varied |
A really great resource for plant care and in depth information is Colorado Native Plant Society. They seek to educate the community through furthering knowledge, appreciation and conservation of Colorado's beautiful native plants and habitats.