NURSERY
Welcome! At CCSR, we are passionate about gardening and helping our customers bring their green spaces to life. We understand that navigating through the vast variety of plants can be overwhelming. That's why we have carefully curated our nursery page with trees, shrubs, and ornamentals that thrive in the beautiful state of Colorado. Our knowledgeable team is always happy to answer any questions you may have and guide you in the right direction. Shop with us to find the perfect plants for your garden today! Check in from time to time as we will be adding plants to our list of Colorado greats!
Do Hardiness Zones Really Matter?
You might be asking, does it really matter if I am in Hardiness Zone 6, but I want to buy a plant that is specific to Hardiness Zone 7? Many people may be tempted to buy a plant outside of their zone because they like the way it looks or the colors it displays, and then get frustrated and disheartened when the plant does not survive or when it loses all of the beautiful features that drew you to the plant in the first place. So, the answer to this question is yes, it does matter!
Planting Zones
8 not so common Deciduous trees that do great in Colorado
1. American Yellowwood - Other Common Names: Kentucky Yellowwood. Flowering Season: Late spring and summer. Growing Zones: 4-9
The American Yellowwood is a medium-to-large-sized tree with smooth bark and hanging clusters of fragrant white flowers similar to wisteria. The flowers are followed by papery seed pods. The American Yellowwood has a rounded form, with a crown of delicate branches which are known to break with strong winds and ice.
It has a medium growth rate and makes a good shade tree in a small to medium-sized landscape. It’ll tolerate high soil pH as well as alkaline conditions.
The leaves open yellowish-green before turning bright green in the summer which contrasts pleasing with many of the darker-leaved trees commonly planted around CO. It’ll tolerate both wet and dry sites, clay soils, and road salt.
2. Japanese Lilac Tree - Other Common Names: Giant Tree Lilac. Flowering Season: Late spring. Growing Zones: 3-7 (John's #1)
The Japanese Tree Lilac is a great flowering tree for Front Range Gardeners. Whilst they are true lilacs, they have a much taller and rounded shape than most of the smaller shrubbier lilacs most people are familiar with. They can be grown as single-trunked trees or multi-stemmed shrubs and work well on borders or as specimen trees.
The bark of the Japanese Lilac is reddish with white markings that provide year-long interest. The blooms are about 10 inches wide and a foot long. Whilst the blooms only last for two weeks, they come at a time when other spring bloomers are finished and summer bloomers are still in bud, so can attract many beneficial insects to your yard.
3. Russian Hawthorn - Green Hawthorn, Southern Hawthorn. Flowering Season: Late May to early June. Growing Zones: 4-8
The Russian Hawthorn is a small, drought-tolerant tree that provides interest throughout the year. It has an irregular branching habit with a gnarled and unpredictable form. Spring sees small and glossy leaves emerge which are followed by clusters of bright white flowers.
These, in turn, are followed by bright red fruits in August. The leaves turn yellow in the fall and the fruit matures to a rusty shade of red by the winter.
The Russian Hawthorn has ¼ to ½-inch long thorns and makes a superb tree for dry areas. It’ll reportedly grow up to elevations of 9,500 ft.
4. Ussurian Pear- Other Common Names: Chinese Pear Tree. Flowering Season: Late May to early June. Growing Zones: 4-8
The Ussurian Pear is the hardiest pear variety and grows with a dense and rounded habit. The foliage is dark and glossy and turns reddish-purple in the fall. The white flowers begin as pinkish buds and are 1 ⅓ inches in diameter and appear in the late spring.
The Ussurian Pear is a good choice of high altitude fruit tree for colder climates. It’ll grow in normal to moist soils, with some sand or clay tolerance.
5. Western Catalpa- Other Common Names: Northern Catalpa, Hardy Catalpa, Catawba, Cigar Tree. Flowering Season: Late May to June. Growing Zones: 4-8
The Western Catalpa is native to the United States where it grows in open forests. It has an upright and loosely pyramidal crown that is sometimes rounded and half-open.
The bark is grey-brown and peels off in narrow plates, whilst the twigs change from olive green to grey. The leaves are heart-shaped and dull green, appear late in the spring, and are shed relatively early in the season.
The inflorescence of the Western Catalpa are borne on long panicles that are white with yellow and purple spots. These are followed by very long and slender seed capsules. It’ll grow in almost any soil type provided it’s not too wet. It’s a valuable tree for bees and other pollinators so is a good choice for those looking to plant a pollinator-friendly garden.
6. Kentucky Coffeetree- Other Common Names: Coffeetree, American Coffeetree. Flowering Season: Late spring to early summer. Growing Zones: 3-8
The Kentucky Coffeetree gets its name from the Native Americans and early settlers who used to use the beans as a substitute for coffee. It’ll tolerate a range of temperatures and soils, making it suitable for urban situations, according to the Morton Arboretum. The Kentucky Coffee tree has a slow-to-moderate growth rate.
The leaves consist of several lance-shaped leaflets, that can lend a semi-tropical feel to your landscape. Fall sees the leaves turn a shade of bright yellow. Early summer sees fragrant white flowers appear that are often hidden by the dense foliage.
As the summer fades, they morph into dangling seed pods which provide winter interest. Kentucky Coffeetrees are highly adaptable trees and will even grow in the infamous Colorado Clay.
8 not so common Deciduous trees that do great in Colorado
1. American Yellowwood - Other Common Names: Kentucky Yellowwood. Flowering Season: Late spring and summer. Growing Zones: 4-9
The American Yellowwood is a medium-to-large-sized tree with smooth bark and hanging clusters of fragrant white flowers similar to wisteria. The flowers are followed by papery seed pods. The American Yellowwood has a rounded form, with a crown of delicate branches which are known to break with strong winds and ice.
It has a medium growth rate and makes a good shade tree in a small to medium-sized landscape. It’ll tolerate high soil pH as well as alkaline conditions.
The leaves open yellowish-green before turning bright green in the summer which contrasts pleasing with many of the darker-leaved trees commonly planted around CO. It’ll tolerate both wet and dry sites, clay soils, and road salt.
2. Japanese Lilac Tree - Other Common Names: Giant Tree Lilac. Flowering Season: Late spring. Growing Zones: 3-7 (John's #1)
The Japanese Tree Lilac is a great flowering tree for Front Range Gardeners. Whilst they are true lilacs, they have a much taller and rounded shape than most of the smaller shrubbier lilacs most people are familiar with. They can be grown as single-trunked trees or multi-stemmed shrubs and work well on borders or as specimen trees.
The bark of the Japanese Lilac is reddish with white markings that provide year-long interest. The blooms are about 10 inches wide and a foot long. Whilst the blooms only last for two weeks, they come at a time when other spring bloomers are finished and summer bloomers are still in bud, so can attract many beneficial insects to your yard.
3. Russian Hawthorn - Green Hawthorn, Southern Hawthorn. Flowering Season: Late May to early June. Growing Zones: 4-8
The Russian Hawthorn is a small, drought-tolerant tree that provides interest throughout the year. It has an irregular branching habit with a gnarled and unpredictable form. Spring sees small and glossy leaves emerge which are followed by clusters of bright white flowers.
These, in turn, are followed by bright red fruits in August. The leaves turn yellow in the fall and the fruit matures to a rusty shade of red by the winter.
The Russian Hawthorn has ¼ to ½-inch long thorns and makes a superb tree for dry areas. It’ll reportedly grow up to elevations of 9,500 ft.
4. Ussurian Pear- Other Common Names: Chinese Pear Tree. Flowering Season: Late May to early June. Growing Zones: 4-8
The Ussurian Pear is the hardiest pear variety and grows with a dense and rounded habit. The foliage is dark and glossy and turns reddish-purple in the fall. The white flowers begin as pinkish buds and are 1 ⅓ inches in diameter and appear in the late spring.
The Ussurian Pear is a good choice of high altitude fruit tree for colder climates. It’ll grow in normal to moist soils, with some sand or clay tolerance.
5. Western Catalpa- Other Common Names: Northern Catalpa, Hardy Catalpa, Catawba, Cigar Tree. Flowering Season: Late May to June. Growing Zones: 4-8
The Western Catalpa is native to the United States where it grows in open forests. It has an upright and loosely pyramidal crown that is sometimes rounded and half-open.
The bark is grey-brown and peels off in narrow plates, whilst the twigs change from olive green to grey. The leaves are heart-shaped and dull green, appear late in the spring, and are shed relatively early in the season.
The inflorescence of the Western Catalpa are borne on long panicles that are white with yellow and purple spots. These are followed by very long and slender seed capsules. It’ll grow in almost any soil type provided it’s not too wet. It’s a valuable tree for bees and other pollinators so is a good choice for those looking to plant a pollinator-friendly garden.
6. Kentucky Coffeetree- Other Common Names: Coffeetree, American Coffeetree. Flowering Season: Late spring to early summer. Growing Zones: 3-8
The Kentucky Coffeetree gets its name from the Native Americans and early settlers who used to use the beans as a substitute for coffee. It’ll tolerate a range of temperatures and soils, making it suitable for urban situations, according to the Morton Arboretum. The Kentucky Coffee tree has a slow-to-moderate growth rate.
The leaves consist of several lance-shaped leaflets, that can lend a semi-tropical feel to your landscape. Fall sees the leaves turn a shade of bright yellow. Early summer sees fragrant white flowers appear that are often hidden by the dense foliage.
As the summer fades, they morph into dangling seed pods which provide winter interest. Kentucky Coffeetrees are highly adaptable trees and will even grow in the infamous Colorado Clay.
3 Best Types of Pine Trees That Grow in Colorado
1. Ponderosa Pine- Other Common Names: Bull Pine, Western Yellow Pine, Blackjack Pine, Rock Pine. Growing Zones: 3-7
Ponderosa Pines have an open rounded or flat-topped crown and are found at elevations of 6,300 to 9,500 feet in CO. The needles of the Ponderosa Pine range from 3-7 inches long in bundles of 3 that occur at the end of the branches.
The bark on younger trees is dark, whilst older trees develop large red-orange scaly plates.
Ponderosa Pines will grow in areas with dry, nutrient-poor soil in open park-like stands alongside Douglas fir trees, Rocky Mountain Juniper, and Spruce.
They are fire-resistant due to their open crown, thick insulating bark, self-pruning branches, and the high moisture content of the leaves and buds.
Ponderosa Pines grow best in deep, moist well-drained soils but will adapt to a wide array of different conditions.
2. Piñon Pine- Other Common Names: Pinyon Pine, Two Leaf Pinyon, Two Needle Pinyon, Colorado Pinyon. Growing Zones: 4-8
Piñon Pines reside on dry rocky slopes, canyonlands, and southern prairies and can be found in Colorado National Monument in dry open land at elevations of 5000-8000 ft. They are shorter than the previous two pines, typically not exceeding 50 ft in height, and are evergreen trees.
Their trunks are gnarled and reddish-brown and support short needles and yellow/brown cones, with about 20 edible nuts, known as piñones in Spanish.
The cones are 1.5 to 2 inches long and are egg-shaped. These nuts are hand-picked in the Southwestern states and form an important part of the indigenous diet. Pinyon Pines will grow best in full sun in well-drained soil.
The Rocky Mountain Bristlecone Pine grows in Colorado at elevations of 9,200 to 11,800 feet. It has a strongly twisted and tapering trunk with a diameter of up to 3 ft with a rounded, flattened, or irregular crown.
The ‘aristata’ in the name means ‘beard,’ and refers to the bristles on the pine cones which resemble white flakes.
The bark of Rocky Mountain Bristlecone Pines is red-brown colored, shallowly fissured with long flat irregular ridges. The branches are contorted with young branches resembling bottle brushes. They need full and well-drained soil and will grow in dry, rocky, and infertile soil, away from any standing water.
3. Rocky Mountain Bristlecone Pine- Other Common Names: Colorado Bristlecone Pine, Foxtail Pine, Hickory Pine. Growing Zones: 4-7
8 Best Maple Trees to Grow in Colorado (Types That Do Well)
1. Tatarian Maple- Other Common Names: Amur Maple. Flowering Season: April/May. Growing Zones: 4-10
The Tatarian Maple is a small tree or shrub that is native to Southeastern Europe and Western Asia but can be found growing in many temperate areas of the world. It is often multi-stemmed and round to wide-spreading.
The leaves are usually unlobed (although younger trees may have 2-3 lobes) They are a medium shade of green that changes to yellow, brown, and reddish in the fall.
Greenish/white flowers appear in panicles, and the fruit are samaras with parallel wings. The Tatarian Maple grows best in full sun to partial shade in well-drained soil and is drought tolerant.
2. Red Maple (Acer rubrum)- Other Common Names: Swamp Maple, Soft Maple, Water Maple. Flowering Season: Early spring. Growing Zones: 3-9
The Red Maple can be found in abundance in the Eastern States such as Maryland and New Jersey. It’s a large tree with a compact or rounded crown and red autumnal leaves, fruit and stalks.
The foliage is often 3-5 lobed. Male trees produce reddish/pink flowers in the early spring, whilst females produce red samaras shortly afterwards.
Young Red Maple Trees have a smooth gray/silver bark which provides winter interest after the leaves have been shed. Red Maples are tolerant of most soil conditions, but prefer slightly acidic moist conditions.
3. Green Mountain Maple (Acer spicatum)- Other Common Names: Low Maple, Water Maple, Eastern Mountain Maple. Flowering Season: March to May. Growing Zones: 3-7
The Green Mountain Maple is smaller than most other maple trees and grows well at higher elevations. In its natural environment it grows as a small understory tree with multiple trunks that are purple to reddish brown. The yellow green foliage turns orange/bright red in the fall.
The Green Mountain Maple is adaptable to many conditions. The Latin name means spiked and refers to the clusters of flowers. Beavers, moose and deer browse the bark and grouse eat the buds. It’s an important species for preventing erosion on stream banks and steep areas. The Green Mountain Maple is a good choice if you’re looking for a small tree for Colorado.
4. Painted Maple (Acer pictum)- Other Common Names: Painted Maple. Flowering Season: April-May. Growing Zones: 5-8
The Painted Maple is a broadleaf deciduous tree with a tall, rounded and spreading crown. It’s native to Japan, China, Korea and Mongolia, and sometimes grows in a shrub form. The leaves are variable, 3-6” long, with 5-7 triangular lobes.
They emerge bronze in the spring, changing bright green in the summer, with shades of gold and crimson, yellow and orange in the fall.
Greenish/yellow flowers appear in upright clusters in spring and the fruit are samaras 1.5” long. Painted Maples can be grown in full sun or partial shade. The Painted Maple is a good choice for a patio or as a tree for a small space in Colorado.
5. Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum)- Other Common Names: Sugar Maple. Flowering Season: April. Growing Zones: 3-9
The Sugar Maple is the most common used maple for the production of maple syrup and is a large tree with a dense crown. The leaves are 8” long and turn shade or orange, red, yellow and everywhere in between.
The bark of young maple trees can be quite smooth but becomes shaggy with age. The central trunk is typically straight and the branches are wide spreading.
The Sugar Maple is most commonly seen in its native range in moist bottom lands, and rich wooded slopes. Because of the size of the Sugar Maple, it’s most commonly seen planted in public spaces and urban areas and could function well as a shade tree for Colorado.
6. Norway Maple (Acer platanoides)- Crimson King, Emerald Queen. Flowering Season: Mid-spring. Growing Zones: 4-7
The Norway Maple is a large shade tree native to Europe and naturalized in North America. The young bark is olive to light brown, becoming gray and furrowed with age.
The Norway Maple is easily confused with the Sugar Maple but can be distinguished by the angle of the samaras, the width of the leaves and the white sap that emerges from cut leaves, twigs and petioles.
The leaves of Norway Maples have 5-7 lobes and are often wider than they are long. They are hardwooded and less susceptible to storm damage than other maples. The dense crown casts a dense shade that can block out natives if left unchecked.
Why Grow Native Shrubs?
Planting Native shrubs in our opinion is a very big deal. Not only for the environment but also for the commercial property owner. Planting native will reduce the yearly plant loss from 25% to 10%. As well as save approximately 40% on your irrigation watering bill. Due to this fact we have decided to provide a little more information below where you will find a short list of shrubs that we at CCSR promote for new or replacement plantings.
There are many benefits to using Colorado native shrubs for home and commercial landscapes. Colorado native shrubs are naturally adapted to their specific Colorado climate, soils, and environmental conditions. When correctly sited, they can be ideal plants for a sustainable landscape that requires reduced external inputs such as watering, fertilizing, and pruning. In order to realize these benefits, the planting site must approximate the natural environmental conditions of the plant in its native habitat. Another benefit of using Colorado natives in landscapes is that they may attract a wide variety of wildlife including mammals, birds, and butterflies. Rapid urbanization in the state is reducing biodiversity as habitat is removed for building and road construction. Landscaping with natives on a large or small scale can maintain biodiversity that otherwise could be lost to development.
10 Native shrubs / ornamental grasses that thrive in Colorado
1. Apache plume- Flowering Season: Summer. Growing Elevations 3,500 – 8,000. Moisture Rating - Low
Open, rounded shrub; small grayish-green
leaves; whitish shreddy bark; white, rose-like flowers; fuzzy pinkish
seed heads appear all summer; native to Colorado.
2. big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata)- Flowering Season: Summer. Growing Elevations 4,500 – 9,500. Moisture Rating - Low
Silver colored evergreen with peeling grayish bark; leaves densely hairy and aromatic; wildlife browse plant; does not tolerate high moisture.
3. Three Leaf Sumac (Rhus trilobata)- Flowering Season: Summer / Fall. Growing Elevations 3,500 – 9,000. Moisture Rating - Low
Arching branches with glossy green three-parted
leaves, small yellow flowers before leaves; reddish hairy edible fruits;
orange to red fall color.
4. silvery leadplant (Amorpha canescens)- Flowering Season: Summer. Growing Elevations 3,500 – 7,500. Moisture Rating - Low
Erect, dense shrub with gray-green, fern-like
foliage; tall spikes of violet-purple flowers in mid-summer; tolerant
of drought and poor soils.
5. mountain-lilac (Ceanothus fendleri)- Flowering Season: Late Spring. Growing Elevations 5,000 – 9,000. Moisture Rating - Low
Spiny, low shrub with small white flower
clusters in late spring; wildlife browse plant; grows on coarse soils;
less available.
Native American Grasses
Native grasses add a sense of place to Colorado gardens
6. Little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium)- . Growing Elevations To 7,500 ft.. Moisture Rating - Low
Green to blue-green to blue clumps. Fluffy, white seed plumes. Orange
to red fall color. Native best grown in clay soils. Tolerates light
shade. Drought tolerant. Height- 3 – 5'
7. Indian grass (Sorghastrum nutans)- Fall color change. Growing Elevations To 6,500 ft. Moisture Rating - Low
Tall grass prairie native. Foliage color varies, turns yellow then
orange in fall. Tan-yellow seed heads. Shade intolerant. Prefers moisture,
will withstand drier soils. Height- 3 – 5'
7. feather reed grass- Moisture Rating - Low Average height 2' - 3'
Showy, upright, arching clump. Medium green, stiff foliage. Orange
to yellow fall color. Flower spikes persist into winter. Tolerates
heavy soils. Medium dry to moist conditions
7. Prairie dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis)- Moisture Rating - Low
Thin, fine-textured, emerald leaves, gold to orange-red in fall.
A native accent plant. Provide some moisture. Tolerates light shade.
7. Flame grass (Miscanthus ‘Purpurascens’)- Moisture Rating - Low
Flowers open pale pink then turn silver, tolerates light shade,
reliable orange-red fall color.
