Native Tree Species for the Rocky Mountain Region

These trees provide homeowners from plains to peaks with appealing options

Many nurseryman in the Mountain West struggle to find trees ; specially attractive , well - comport Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree that excel in our coarse mood . Here , native trees must overcome frequent wildlife browse and competition from encroaching species that have rendered a few options landscape painting - obsolete . The leaning of invoke candidates for Rocky Mountain gardener may feel as if it shrinks to a spareness reminiscent of the local soils . However , excellent options stay , and some — like theColorado blue spruce — need no packaging . Below are native tree diagram mintage for the Rocky Mountains that leave homeowner from plain to peaks with appealing options .

White fir

Abies concolor , Zones 3–7

coniferous tree are perhaps the first tree to add up to mind when one thinks of the Rockies , and they are a raw conniption for our gardens . white-hot true fir is an likeable option for sites that deflect extreme heat and receive steady irrigation or authentic wintertime Charles Percy Snow screen . Neat and conical , livid fir reach 30 to 50 foot in pinnacle and half that in width , with neat , just - facing , dingy - greenish needle . Unlike spruce needles , which they generally resemble , these needles are blunt - tip off rather than discriminating .

Single-leaf pinyon

Pinus monophylla , zone 5–8

Adapted more to heat , single - leaf pinon is receive in the western edges of our region . Smaller than white fir , this first cousin of the Colorado pinyon — another splendid native Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree — rarely surpass 30 feet in tallness . Perhaps most appealing about this specie is the multifariousness of dwarfs that can be find on the marketplace in a variety of physical body and colors . With needles ranging from brusque and gullible to long and dusty blue , they make star focal points or garden dialect . My favorite in recent years has been ‘ Spring Creek Blue , ’ a impenetrable , teardrop - influence Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree that grows to 5 feet in a decade .

Multi - trunk Gambel oak

Quercus gambellii‘Gila Monster . ’Photo : David Salman

Gambel oak

Quercus gambellii , Zones 3–7

More appealing to the mean householder , oak tree represent what might be the most various genus of trees on the continent ( think pick ! ) and are one of the most wide used genus by native louse as a food generator . Likely the most widely distributed in our region , the Gambel oak grows as a thicket - form bush or pocket-sized tree , often with a suckering nature . A reliably sucker - loose , single - body selection of Gambel oak tree is soon to be widely available in our region thanks to imminent promotion by the nonprofitPlant Select . sell under the name ‘ Gila Monster ’ , the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree should make a complement to our landscapes that ’s as valuable to us as it is to wildlife . Gambel oak tree can rise 20 foot to 30 foot tall in good condition with a 10- to 20 - foot - wide spread .

Bigtooth maple

Acer grandidentatum , zona 4–8

Native from mountains of the Desert Southwest to the Montana borderline , bigtooth maple is an ace in the jam for many of our garden : a well - behaved aboriginal tree with exceptional dip color that adapts to a kind of planting sites . Tree typically are exclusive trunked but branch extravagantly a forgetful distance above the soil surface , develop a narrow , whisklike human body to 20 feet . comprehend in small , classic “ maple ” leaves , they make unbelievable landscape accents in fall when leaves turn yellow , orange , and bright red . For the same reason that maple syrup is tapdance in wintertime , it ’s better to avoid wintertime prune these maples ; they will bleed sap extravagantly .

Tips and Care for Native Trees

Durable and adaptable , all of the trees in this piece bring home the bacon in our region with typical care during establishment . For the highest and harshest emplacement , look to white fir tree and Gambel oak , which , along with single - acerate leaf pinon and bigtooth maple , grow well at mid and lower elevations with some lachrymation .

When planting , turn back for and prune girdling theme , and ensure that tree are water deeply through a healthy layer of mulch their first few years . Installing a cage to protect against wildlife is judicious for rural and slew areas , since those who wish to plump for wildlife through planting trees necessitate those trees to live long enough to do so !

See more native flora suggestions for the Mountain West

Native Annuals and Biennials for Rocky Mountain Gardens

Penstemons Native to the Mountain West

Designing a Native Mixed Border in the Mountain West

Bryan Fischer lives and gardens at the carrefour of the Great Plains and the Rockies . He is a plantsman and the conservator of industrial plant collections for a local botanical garden .

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