by Matt Corrion
After getting great feedback on my 20 Best Xeriscape Plants for Colorado post, which included a few follow-up requests, I have decided to publish a list of the best high altitude plants for landscaping.
The Challenges of High Elevations
When landscaping at higher elevations, there are many challenges to consider. The plants themselves are often limited in how cold of winter temperature they can withstand. And there are also the challenging microclimates, wind, and levels of moisture that can occur at high altitudes.
Grazing deer and elk are also a common problem at higher elevations. All of these factors should be carefully considered in the design of the landscape. Consult the USDA Plant Hardiness zones for your local area, and consider working with an experienced landscape architect or garden designer.
It would be a great idea to do some nature walks in your local area to observe the native plants that are thriving naturally, and are well adapted to the various microclimates that can be found in your area.
I have decided to limit the list to plants that I feel will do well above 8,000 ft. There are several plants that are advertised to do well above 7,500 ft, but I am not comfortable recommending all of them, so lets go with 8,000.
Deciduous Trees
- Quaking Aspen Populus tremuloides
- Canada Red Cherry Prunus virginiana ‘Canada Red’
- Russian Hawthorne Crataegus ambigua
- Ginnala Maple Acer ginnala
- Apple and Crabbaple Malus (several types)
- Alder Alnus tenuifolia
- Tartarian Maple Acer tartaricum
- Birch Betula (several types)
- Mountain Ash Sorbus aucuparia
- English Oak Quercus robur
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by Matt Corrion
Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis) has a graceful form, and unique pink flowers that appear in the spring before the leaves emerge. The flowers appear even on the larger branches, and sometimes even on the trunk itself. Redbud is one of my personal favorites. In arid climates like Colorado, they should be planted in a protected location, in partial shade.
This is the official blog of Outdoor Design Group, Colorado Landscape Architects. For more information about our business and our services, click here.
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by Matt Corrion
Juniper bushes are the most despised landscaping plant in existence. I know this to be true, because 75% of the time that I talk with a homeowner or property owner about renovating their landscape, they say something like “those Junipers have GOT to go!”.
Juniper bushes are common in older landscapes. Here they were not given adequate room, so they have been sheared off along the walkway.
Why is this? I think there are a few main reasons, aside from the fact that they are prickly beasts that we have all tangled with a one point (either landing in one while playing as a kid, or getting that annoying rash on your arm while trimming them) :
1) They were simply overused in the past. People are just tired of them and want something unique and new. And since they live for ages and rarely die, they are often the only living survivors guarding the front doors of homes in any older neighborhood.
2) They were not planted with enough room to grow. Many of the varieties get quite large after say, 20 years, and quickly outgrow the planting bed. Because they grow too large for their setting they require excessive pruning to keep them at a manageable size. This pruning then exposes all of the dead old growth inside the base of the plant- ugly!
3) The aforementioned prickliness. And good luck getting the baseball you were tossing around out of the center of that green monster.
Given these negatives, why then should you consider using Juniper plants in your landscape?
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by Matt Corrion
The interesting seed pods of the Golden Rain Tree appear like hanging paper lanterns. They start out a golden yellow in late summer, and fade to shades of red and brown through the fall.
This is the official blog of Outdoor Design Group, Colorado Landscape Architects. For more information about our business and our services, click here.
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by Matt Corrion
Here a few images I snapped from my “dry Xeriscape” garden at my home in Arvada, Colorado. This garden faces southwest, and receives little to no supplemental watering. The area was previous an irrigated lawn before I converted it to this Xeriscape.
Delosperma (Red Mountain and Mesa Verde Iceplant) and Actostaphylos x coloradoensis (Panchito Manzanita)
Dry Xeriscape Garden
Erigonum umbellatum (Kannah Creek Buckwheat)
Delosperma (Red Mountain and Mesa Verde Iceplant)
This is the official blog of Outdoor Design Group, Colorado Landscape Architects. For more information about our business and our services, click here.
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