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What Garden Plants Tolerate the High Mountain Winds of Colorado?

What Garden Plants Tolerate the High Mountain Winds of Colorado?

“Our biggest challenge up here in the mountains is the wind. Unless we build a sturdy greenhouse, there’s no way around it as it comes through and over fences as well. (10-35 mph on about 75% of days) Any plant suggestions?” Question from Wolf of Westcliffe, Colorado

Answer: When growing conditions are a problem for average garden-center plants, don’t complicate things. Go native. There are lots of beautiful native plants that grow well in Westcliffe’s warm summers, freezing winters, drought, and windy weather.

Dryland Native Plants for Colorado

When seeking the best garden plants for a region, I always turn to state extension services and universities for information about best-fit plants. They’re always the best resources for regional landscape plant recommendations. And, low and behold, when searching for your local flora, I found the document that you need. Colorado State and the Colorado Native Plant Society put together an outstanding piece about high-altitude, native garden plants for low-water regions in Colorado. (Click here to view it.) It lists some all-round garden favorites, like the Rocky Mountain bee plant (Cleome serrulata), beebalm (Monarda fistulosa), blanket flower (Gaillardia aristata), and even Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta), but it also lists many other native flowers and shrubs just found in your area. Its plant suggestions and bed ideas are outstanding. They are also wind-tolerant.

Your region is blessed with some of the most beautiful native plants in the US. I hope that this information is helpful.

Happy gardening,

Jessie Keith

Black Gold Horticulturist

What Fruit Trees Grow at a 10,000 ft. Elevation in the Rockies?

“Is it possible to grow fruit trees at 10,000 ft. in elevation (Rocky Mountains)” Question from Wolf of Westcliffe, Colorado

Answer: Fruit trees able to produce at high altitudes must be able to tolerate cooler, shorter growing seasons and cold winters. There are several very early fruit-bearing trees able to tough it out. Ideally, trees should also be late to flower, for spring pollination and fruit set. The University of Minnesota breeds many fruits, particularly apples, that survive under these conditions (click here to learn more).  Here are a handful for you to consider.

Fruit Trees for High Elevations

Apple ‘Centennial Crabapple’ (Zone 3): a tasty crabapple good for eating fresh or making sauce that ripens in late August.

Apple ‘State Fair’ (Zone 4): a tart, sweet eating apple that ripens in August.

Apple ‘Lodi’ (Zone 3): cooking apple for pies and sauce that bears in August.

Pear ‘Summercrisp’ (Zone 4): crisp, sweet pears are produced in August.

When buying a hardy fruit tree, ask about rootstock. Some rootstocks impart more hardiness than others.

Rocky Mountain Native Fruits for High Elevations

Sometimes it pays to go native. Many native fruits naturally exist at your elevation, including bright red wax currants (Ribes cereum), which have delicious, tart red berries, serviceberry (Amelanchier alnifolia), boulder raspberry (Rubus deliciosus) and red elderberry (Sambucus racemosa). You might be able to find these in regional, specialty nurseries that sell natives. (Click here for a list of Colorado native plant sellers.)

Happy mountain fruit growing!

Jessie Keith

Black Gold Horticulturist

What Is the Best Narrow Conifer for Snowy Colorado Landscapes?

Eastern red cedar

“What is a good upright juniper, or other narrow conifer, to plant that stays nice and narrow and tight so snow doesn’t bend the branches down and damage them? My planting area only gets partial sun and is very dry for much of the year. I tried Skyrocket junipers, but they broke under the weight of the snow.” Question from Sharon of Westminster, Colorado.

Answer:  There are quite a few evergreens that can take snow load. The best are natives to your region, but there are also some cultivated, non-natives to consider.

Narrow stature can reduce snow load, but limb flexibility is even more important. Trees with unrelenting, stiff branches suffer the most breakage, while those with flexible branches bend under snow and pop back when the weight is gone. Often, the snow will slip off as the branches bend. Your native limber pine (Pinus flexus) is named for this trait.

Thinking along these lines, I would choose evergreens with good strength, bendy branches, some drought tolerance, and the ability to survive in lower light as young trees. Native selections will likely perform the best. Good options do not have to be linear.

Colorado Native Snow-Resistant Evergreens

  • The superlinear fastigiate Douglas fir, Pseudotsuga menziesii ‘Fastigiata’, is hardy to Zone 5 and has moderate drought tolerance.
  • Rocky Mountain cedar (Juniperus scopulorum), grows to 30 feet and can withstand some understory (partial shade) conditions as well as drought.
  • The Limber pine (Pinus flexus) will reach 65 feet, withstand some drought, and take lower light until it outgrows surrounding trees.
  • The columnar lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia ‘Fastigiata’) and tall, super-tough Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) are two more options tolerant of the conditions you mention.

Non-Native Snow-Resistant Evergreen Options

  • Prairie Statesman® Swiss stone pine (Pinus cembra ‘Herman’): This alpine tree may not be native, but it is narrow, upright and stands up to snow. It is also drought-tolerant, withstands very cold winters, and reaches 30 feet high and 10 feet wide.  Its bright green needles are very fine.
  • Green Arrow Alaska Cedar (Chamaecyparis nootkatensis ‘Green Arrow’): This is about as narrow as you can get. No snow could hang onto these branches.  Green Arrow is very hardy, reaches 20 feet high and 2 feet wide. These look best planted in a group.
  • Hetz’s Chinese juniper (Juniperus chinensis ‘Hetzii Columnaris’ or ‘Columnaris’): This Chinese juniper is pyramidal, narrow, relatively compact (reaching 15 feet or taller) and provides a good windbreak for very cold areas to USDA Hardiness Zone 4.
  • Serbian spruce (Picea omorika, Zone 4). There are many tall, narrow varieties adapted to high snowfall, but the tree only has moderate drought tolerance.

I encourage you to search out more varieties via the ever-useful Morton Arboretum’s Tree Database.)

Happy conifer growing!

Jessie Keith

Black Gold Horticulturist

What Are Some Good Hardy Succulents for Colorado?

“What succulents will grow outdoors in Colorado ZIP 80021, Growing Zone 6?” Question from Joe of Westminster, Colorado.

Answer: I love hardy succulents and have written about them extensively because they are beautiful and easy to grow in many areas of the country, with good bed prep. I see that Westminster has an average rainfall of 17-inches per year, a good bit lower than the 38-inch-per-year national average, so you live in dry country. Thankfully, there are loads of hardy cacti and succulents beautifully adapted to your Zone 6 Cold Hardiness. Here is a very small sample of my favorites.

Agave

Parry’s Agave (Agave parryi): This amazingly cold-hardy agave can survive winter cold to Zone 4, as long as the winters remain quite dry. It is compact and has tough, silvery foliage with sharp black tips. Plant it in very well-drained soil.

Havard’s Agave (Agave havardiana): This super bold agave forms very large rosettes of grey-green foliage and is hardy to Zone 5, where winters are dry.

Cacti

Orange Chiffon Prickly Pear (Opuntia ‘Orange Chiffon’): This amazing cactus is hardy to Zone 5.  It is one of many beautiful prickly pear hybrids with fantastic spring flowers. This one is also nearly thornless.

Claret Cup Cactus (Echinocereus triglochidiatus): This super hardy hedgehog cactus has spectacular orange-red flowers, and plants will survive to Zone 5 in a raised rock garden. It is a real beauty that’s well worth growing.

Fragile Pricklypear (Opuntia fragilis): This low, creeping pricklypear is an alpine native of Colorado and bears lovely pale yellow flowers in late spring.

Sedums and Sempervivums

There are so many amazing sedums and hens-and-chicks to grow it is hard to know where to start, but here are a few beautiful varieties of various sizes to consider.

October Daphne Sedum (Sedum sieboldii ‘October Daphne’): This pretty 9″-12″ tall sedum has rose-edged, blue-green nickles of foliage and clusters of rosy flowers that bloom in fall. It is hardy to Zone 5.

Cliff Stonecrop (Sedum cauticola): This hardy (Zone 4) low-growing sedum has dusty purple foliage and deep rosy pink flower clusters in summer.

I cannot choose a single variety of hens-n-chicks, so I suggest you view this expansive list of them for sale at Mountain Crest Gardens. All are hardy.

For a good list of tall sedums, click here for an article on the subject. Also, if you want to propagate any succulents that you have on hand, check out this article.

Succulent Sources

It’s important to mention that you have a very good source for cold-hardy cacti and succulents close to you called Cold Hardy Cactus. It offers an excellent list of beautiful and unusual succulents well adapted to the drier regions of Colorado.

For a cool succulent rock garden design, check out this succulent seaside rock garden that I created last year. It is chock full of very hardy succulents from Mountain Crest Gardens. For gardens like this sharp drainage is a must, so I added Black Gold Cactus Mix to the pebble base in addition to Black Gold Garden Compost Blend.

I hope that these tips help!

Happy gardening,

Jessie Keith

Black Gold Horticulturist