There ’s no shortage of ornamental trees that uprise well in Colorado . Below , you ’ll find 15 showy specimens that do well in the Front Range , Western Slope , and beyond . Check out the unique foliation , flower , and yield that these trees yield . Combine them to make a really spectacular privateness cover or partition . These phenomenal flora bring color , bouquet , and texture to your yard . Many of them are excellent boniface for insects , birds , and other wildlife .
Flowering Crabapple (Malus)
Crabapple tree are some of the most vulgar decorative trees found in Colorado . Nothing trounce the flowering crabapple of Colorado ’s Front Range . Colorado ’s street are aglow with pinkish - purple flowers in leap . Crabapple ’s flowering season run from April to May . Most trees stay in flower for just one to two week . However , there are enough alternating crabapple varieties to ensure that the blossoms are around all spring .
The Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree ’s fragrant flowers precede its small fruits . cultivated crab apple are a hatful like literal apples . However , they are no grown than 2 in in diam and not as fleshy as their more edible cousin . Some crabapple varieties offer up fantabulous declivity foliage . Their leaves may turn yellow , orange , or red as Colorado ’s summers wreathe down . Crabapple trees also tend to have dense , widespread crowns . Their trunks are crooked and spindly with mottled or exfoliate bark .
Robinson , royal raindrop , Sargent , and radiant are just a few crabapple varieties that do well in the Centennial State . Check out Colorado State University ’s Extension to find a complete tilt of flowering crabapple trees that are native to Colorado .
Rocky Mountain Juniper (Juniperus scopulorum)
Rocky Mountain Juniper , or mountain ruby-red cedar , is an evergreen plant Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree that offers class - round stunner to Colorado landscape . The juniper ’s silverish - blasphemous foliage is phonograph needle - like and fragrant . It boasts blueberry bush - like fruits . This particular variety develop a whitish hue when it is young . Its bark tend to seem reddish - brown and blotch .
These showy trees can grow 30 to 40 pes by the time they hit adulthood . A full - grown Rocky Mountain juniper tree ’s diadem may be anywhere from 3 to 15 feet in diameter .
According to the Colorado State University Extension , other juniper varieties that do well in Colorado are alpine carpet , tabletop blue , and blueberry pleasure . Rocky Mountain Juniper is often used for decorative determination . However , its presence is also appreciate by aboriginal insects and animals . It ’s a host plant to the European olive tree butterfly stroke . Its seminal fluid are beloved by all sorts of birds and small mammals . Many animals assay cover or progress nests in its foliage .
Tatarian Maple (Acer tataricum)
Tatarian maple is a hardy tree that offers up spectacular colour in autumn . The deciduous tree ’s orange - red canopy serves as a celebratory reminder of seasonal change . In spring , birds and other diminished animals gather to collect the tree ’s fly seeds .
This is a drought- and disease - resistant Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree that does well in Colorado ’s dry , alkaline dirt . While its green - white prime are that impressive , its red - atilt seeds are rather spectacular . Moreover , its dense foliage put up up much - apprise ghost and protection .
Golden Rain Tree (Koelreuteria paniculata
The gilt rain tree is a average - sized deciduous tree that turn well in Colorado ’s Front Range and at altitudes up to 6,000 feet . It grant moody gullible leaves , pale yellow bloom , and red - brown seed pod .
The gold rain tree diagram is native to Asia . However , it ’s also well - adjust to the Front Range ’s alkaline filth and scorching sunshine . It can tolerate heavy defilement and less - than - suitable soil . This dazzle industrial plant acquire foot - long pannicles of yellow flowers in summertime . The star - shaped blooms diminish one by one . The shedding blossom suffice as the inspiration for the tree diagram ’s name . The aureate rainwater tree ’s fruits are every bit distinctive . The paper - comparable brown pods resemble Chinese lanterns . Each one has three seeded player - filled abridgment . They are often trimmed from the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree and added to cut bloom arrangements .
This unbelievable tree is perfect for Colorado curtilage and landscape . It unpack all sorts of surprises and can even be added to bouquets . It ’s one of the few tree diagram that can handle Colorado ’s extreme weather condition and singular growing conditions . Its centre - catching knockout endure all year around .
Japanese Tree Lilac (Syringa reticulata)
The Japanese tree diagram lilac is a skinny relative of the lilac shrub , one of Colorado ’s most democratic landscaping plants . It boasts dark-green foliage , white bloom , and reddish - brown barque . Its fragrant bloom attract a across-the-board variety of insects and songbird . The tiny peak grow from just panicles . The cloud - like bunch bloom in other summer . The sporty display last for anywhere from one to two calendar week .
Nipponese tree lilac can handle utmost temperature , high elevations , and alkaline dirt . It ’s little in sizing and does not spread far . Mature trees are usually around 30 foot improbable and 20 substructure wide . It is preferred for its year - round flamboyance and compact sizing . Its unrivalled aesthetic value make it a top choice for most Colorado gardeners .
Canada Red Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana ‘Canada Red’)
Canadian red chokecherry is an decorative Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree that fairs well in Colorado ’s utmost clime . This plant boasts hopeful green foliage , a rounded crown , showy bloom , and minor fruit . It can grow to be anywhere from 25 to 30 feet marvellous and 15 to 20 feet wide-eyed .
The Canda red chokecherry ’s fragrant blooms are creamy and rounded . They produce from raceme - like stalks that are located at the conclusion of the tree diagram ’s branches . The flashy flowers precede the flora ’s ruby - majestic berries . The fruits ’ anatomy is comestible . However , their germ are not . As such , they are good left for the bird and other small critter .
Ornamental Plum (Prunus triloba)
The decorative plum tree is a flowering tree diagram that develop from Europe and Eastern Asia . It boasts an upright trunk , a vase - forge cap , mottled bark , and livid blossom . The five - petaled heyday bloom in spring . They seem at the same sentence as the tree ’s regal foliage .
These trees are early boo-boo . They ’re know for their flower rather than their yield . However , they have been known to produce edible fruit on occasion . The fruits are unremarkably no bigger than 1 inch in diameter .
Purple Smoke Tree (Cotinus coggygriala)
The violet smoke Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree is another unique deciduous Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree that generates twelvemonth - round sake . Its canopy is made up of a dumb , rounded cluster of imperial leaves and sprout of soft , purple flush . Its crown can rise to be anywhere from 10 to 12 feet wide . This aesthetically pleasing tree does not normally grow to be tall than 15 feet . Its crown may be rounded or oblong .
Northern Catalpa (Catalpa speciosa)
Northern catalpa is another attention - grabbing tree that thrive in Colorado ’s wry stain . The catalpa yields large , nerve - forge leaf and long , bean - same seed fuel pod . Its whitish bloom give us something to look frontwards to in spring . Its protracted immature and brownish seed pods are equally eye - catch . Its large crown offers up mess of wraith .
Kentucky Coffee Tree (Gymnocladus dioicus)
The Kentucky coffee tree is a popular shadiness tree with several ornamental qualities . Its expectant , bipinnate leaf are typically 3 foot longsighted and 2 feet full . Individual brochure are usually no bigger than 2 inches in length . This phenomenal flora can produce century of bean - alike semen pods . The protracted ontogeny turn chocolate-brown in summer but continue on the tree well into the winter . The works also produces clusters of greenish - white flush . These appear during late bound or early summer . They smell similar to roses and tend to draw all sorts of beneficial invitee .
Kentucky coffee trees command direct sunlight and ample moisture . They can bear a wide range of soils and persist in pollutant - heavy environments . They grow to height of 60 to 75 feet . Their crowns can be up to 70 feet across . They ’re relatively fast growers when they ’re young .
Serviceberry (Amelanchier x grandiflora)
Serviceberry is a shrub or diminished Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree that yields showy , white flowers . The plant ’s bunch racemes are interchangeable to that of a lilac . The prime forgo cluster of blueish - black Chuck Berry .
SErviceberry trees are aboriginal to Colorado ’s Western Slope . These incredible plants can raise to be anywhere from 20 to 25 feet in height and 15 to 20 feet broad .
European Mountain Ash (Sorbus aucuparia)
European mountain ash tree is an incredibly democratic ornamental . Its compound leave boast 11 to 15 alternating leaflets . The single leave are 1 inch in length and incredibly toothy around the edges . They ’re accompanied by bunch of crimson - Orange River berries . The fruits are preceded by the tree ’s dainty white blossoms . These blossom come out in rounded clusters . Each flower has five petals and hundreds of silky hair’s-breadth .
Tulip Tree (Liriodendron)
This tardily - blooming ornamental Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree produces tulip - shaped leaves and bloom . The light-green - yellow-bellied blossoms present a welcome dose of color . The blossoms are 1.5 to 2 inches in diameter . They boast orangeness rings along their foundations . The blossom typically come out between late May and June .
It can take up to 15 year for this magnificent tree to lead off flowering . The alone bloom are well deserving the wait . Most tree go on to dwell extraordinary lives . The average lifespan of a tulip Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree is between 200 and 250 years . These remarkable hardwood are also quite marvelous . Most measure between 100 and 150 substructure at matureness .
Mayday Tree (Prunus padus )
The mayday tree , or shuttlecock cherry , is a slow - growing decorative tree that grant fragrant lily-white prime in spring and cherry red - similar fruits in summertime . The blossoms raise from dropping raceme . The fragrant bunch are a immense hooking for aboriginal pollinators and other worm . These trees lean to be low , shaggy-coated , and lash out . Most mature trees are no taller than 40 groundwork .
Ussurian Pear
Ussurian Pyrus communis is a ego - pollinate ornamental tree that yield sheeny farewell and white peak . This particular Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree can hand summit of 30 base . Its canopy can expand as far as 50 infantry . Though not vicious , its fruits do not may gratifying food . Most gardeners prefer them for their optical characteristics . Of course , they are readily consumed by birds and other small animals . The tree ’s flower are also attractive and fragrant . The pink - clean blossoms boast overlapping flower petal and multiple stamen . They rise in cluster alongside the flora ’s green leaf . The fruits are greenish - yellow and small .
Hawthorne (Crataegus)
There are three varieties of hawthorn Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree that are native to Colorado . These include the shiny - leave hawthorn , the fleshy haw , and the river hawthorn . These tree all yield bloodless flowers and reddish - purple fruit . All of them also boast distinctively toothy leaves and acute thorns .
The hawthorn tree is well - equip to handle the high natural elevation of Colorado ’s mess . It prefer full sunlight but can tolerate a wide range of term . This hardy tree is even considered drought- and disease - resistant . Hawthorns support C of unlike insects . Their pollen and ambrosia are substantive to the selection of many native bee and other pollinating dirt ball .
Russian Hawthorne ( genus Crataegus ambigua ) is a non - aboriginal ornamental Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree that does particularly well in Colorado ’s Front Range . It boasts chicken flowers , ruddy berries , gnarled branches , and dim leaf .
