Anyone living in or traveling through Colorado can certainly testify to the fact that Colorado wildflowers are beautiful.
Many gardeners having visited Colorado return home with a desire to develop their own wildflower beds, even on large properties such as flowering meadow plantings.
Wildflower plantings are quite relaxed and avoid the tight and controlled environment of formal plantings.
Establishing Native Colorado Wildflowers and Grasses
The following discussion should help individuals and groups interested in planting and establishing native Colorado wildflowers and grasses within their specific habitat zone.
Colorado Micro-climates
Colorado consists of micro-climates attributed to altitude, aspect (ex. North), site topography, soils, and region of the state.
Certainly the high plains of Eastern Colorado consists of plants unrelated to the native plants found in the mountains.
If you are planning to establish native grasses and wildflowers, we suggest that you follow the steps below.
First and foremost, we recommend that you conduct a site evaluation.
The first step is to determine what plant life zone the site is located within.
Plant Life Zones
Colorado contains six plant life zones as follows:
The High Plains: Lowest altitude without mountains. This would mainly include all areas east of the Rockies. The ecotype is usually referred to as the short grass prairie.
Foothills: This transition zone usually dominated by grass, Sagebrush, and Yucca mixed with Ponderosa pine.
Colorado Plataeu: This zone is known for the Pinyon and Juniper Woodlands ranging from about 5000 feet to 7000 feet in elevation. Shrubs including Mountain Mahogany and Alder are quite prevalent in this zone. Big Sagebrush increases with grazing.
Montane: Dominant trees are usually Douglas fir, Aspen, and Lodgepole pine. The Colorado Blue spruce can be found in this zone, usually near streams.
Subalpine: This zone is dominated by Englemann spruce, Subalpine fir, and Aspen. The Bristlecone pine is normally located at the transition zone from subalpine to alpine.
Alpine Tundra: Above tree-line.
The second step is to determine what Habitat Zone the site is located within.
The following are the five plant's habitat zones within the Colorado Rocky Mountains:
Habitat Zones
Wet Meadows
Dry Rocky Slopes
Open Gravelly Meadows
Moist Thickets and Woods
Disturbed sites and Roadsides
The third step is now to identify all of the plant species native and non-native to your site. By doing this you will now have the opportunity to eradicate non-native plant species.
Using a botanical key and a hand lens are crucial for correct identification.
It is recommended that you identify the native Colorado wildflowers and grasses in your immediate area, at minimum to the plant family.
The more specific that you can identify the indigenous plants the easier your planning will be.
We recommend determining not only what the plants are, but a rough estimation of the numbers of each plant.
The final step in the planning process is to select the plant species appropriate for your site. The plant lists of Colorado wildflowers and grasses below should help you in the plant selections process.
So why go through all of this effort? Failure to do so could alter the long term success of plant establishment.
Therefore, be sure that the selection of plants match the climate zones.
By taking the time to do a proper site assessment, you will know how to design your seed mixture for your site.
We highly recommend using only native Colorado wildflowers and grasses. Non-natives can and will destroy an ecological zone in a short time, particularly in the Rocky Mountains.
The following varieties should perform well in the high plains of Colorado as they are natives:
High Plains Grasses
Oryzopsis h. Indian Rice Grass
Bouteloua g. Blue Grama
Festuca a. Arizona Fescue
Koeleria m. June Grass
Schizachyrium s. Little Bluestem
Buchloe d. - Buffalo Grass
The following grass species are native to the Colorado Rocky Mounatains.
