When they think of Colorado , most people figure snow - covered flock and mountainsides covered in evergreen trees . Although they may look the same from a distance , the Rocky Mountains are nursing home to various natural evergreen plant plants . While trees make up the majority , evergreen plants can farm as bush . Because they keep their green leaf all year long , they are known as evergreen .
15 Evergreen Trees to Grow in Colorado
1 . Alberta Spruce
A cone-bearing evergreen with a traditional pyramidal condition is the Alberta spruce . This midget variety show develops lento , gaining only 2 - 4 in every year . The 2 - 4 inch long needle have a pleasant perfume . The Alberta Spruce grows densely and thrive in pic to the N or Orient . The Alberta Spruce thrives in climates with parky winter and coolish summertime . Plant in acidic , wet , well - drain soil .
Although it can cover some phantom because of its dense foliage , it ’s preferred to place it where there is sufficient aviation circulation to prevent difficulty in the future tense .
2 . Austrian Pine
The Austrian Pine is a live tree that can live the harsh term of urban country , such as heat , drought , and air pollution . The moody green , pretty twisted needles descend in bundles of two . They grow to a duration of 3 - 6 column inch and remain on the tree for 4 to 8 years , giving it a dense jacket . With rises of 13 to 24 in each year , the Austrian Pine has a pocket-sized to average ontogeny charge per unit .
Alkaline , acidic , sandlike , well - drain clay soils will patronize the growth of Austrian pine trees . It will last some drought conditions , though it prefer moderate wet levels . It forms an ellipse as it develops and is good as a windbreak . Birds and squirrels bask the seeds , and owls prefer the tree diagram for nesting and protection .
3 . Colorado Bristlecone Pine
The Colorado Bristlecone Pine is one of the numerous pine Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree native to CO and may be found in the southern Rocky Mountains . It has a rounded , flatten out uneven pate and a steeply tapering and wind trunk .
The young , twisted branches resemble foresighted bottlebrushes , and the bark stray from gray to reddish - brown . The leaves have a recondite sorry - fleeceable shade , 5 per big bucks , upcurved , and last 10–17 twelvemonth . The Colorado Bristlecone Pine ’s seed cone shape matures during two age . The subalpine to montane region of Colorado , New Mexico , and Arizona are where you’re able to find Colorado Bristlecone Pines in the wild .
4 . Douglas Fir
Conical - shape and endemic to North America , the Douglas Fir grows quickly . It can flourish in a mixture of dirt type and can withstand frigid temperatures very well . The computer mouse - tail - shaped bract encircle the 3- to 4 - inch - long cones of the Douglas Fir are called bracts .
Douglas true fir typically grows in raw , evenly - aged stands following a fire . They can be found in a motley of environments , include open forests , places with pinegrass , and area with mossy undergrowth .
Depending on the cultivar , the Douglas Fir has either blueish - green or yellow - green needles . blasphemous grouse , songbirds , squirrel , hare , and other small animals eat the semen . Antelope , cervid , good deal Goat , and sheep go through the twigs and vegetation . The Douglas Fir is the most authoritative Ellen Price Wood species in the United States and is a preferred sort of fir tree in parks and railway yard due to its attractive maturation pattern .
5 . Engelmann Spruce
The Engelmann Spruce has a spire - like crown and a square tree trunk . Alongside subalpine true fir , it flourishes in region with prolonged , parky winter and brief , parky summers .
leg confining to the earth dispose to flag . The four needle on the leaves are luff but pliable . They have clean bands on the upper and bottom sides and are bluish - immature .
The papery scales on the seed cones are taper on both side and chain of mountains in color from yellow to purplish - brown . The bark is reddish - brown , loose , and scaly . The best ontogenesis conditions for the Engelmann Spruce are deep , rich soils with sufficient precipitation .
6 . austere Chinese Juniper
The Spartan Chinese Juniper is an evergreen tree diagram with a growth practice alike to the Italian Cypress . It is sylphlike , pyramidal , and columnar .
It has grandiloquent branches and dark dark-green leaf resembling scale and uprise quick . It provides twelvemonth - round stake and a lovely vertical idiom to the landscape painting . It work nicely as a shelterbelt or hedge , too .
The Spartan Chinese Juniper can grow in most well - drained soils , including the Great Compromiser , and is tolerant of heat , cold , salt , and drought . Since it does n’t necessitate to be pruned , it is a depleted - maintenance species .
7 . Eastern Red Cedar
In the natural state , the Eastern Red Cedar is often shape like a shrub , but when grown , it can resemble a pyramid . A beautiful contrast to the quietus of the environment is created by the foliage , which is lush and fleeceable in the summer and turns a out of practice copper people of color in the drop but does n’t drop any leaves .
The Eastern Red Cedar will flourish in full sunlight , wry , jolting soils . It grows slowly , as most other junipers do . Despite being an east coast native , it is grow in Colorado below 6,000 feet as a windbreak and for its aesthetical appeal . plant life with caution as it can do as a wildfire ladder fuel and is cognise to induce allergies in some citizenry .
8 . One - Seed Juniper
The Southwestern states are home to the One - Seed Juniper , which is significant to the regional surround . It serve as a baby’s room works and a dwelling for animals by creating microclimates for species that ca n’t withstand the intense Lord’s Day .
It has an fantabulous adaptation to the arid climate . Although not a heavy Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree , its taproot can run 200 foot below the airfoil when fully grow . The dioecious One - Seed Juniper has separate manful and female Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree . On distaff trees , the strobilus pass on maturity after about five months and are moody blue and purpleness . It can grow in full sun to light shade in sandy , gravelly , and loose rocky grunge .
9 . Concolor Fir
The Concolor Fir grows at a medium charge per unit of around 12 " each twelvemonth and is evergreen . The needles are upward - luff , 1 ½ inches long , and put at the branches ' top side . When crushed , they let go of a light citrus scent and last for ten year . They are blue , greenish , or silver in hue . modest to the ground , the ramification . It farm course with Colorado spruce and douglas fir in rocky part of the in high spirits plains , typically between 3,000 and 9,000 feet above sea level in teetotal climates .
10 . Rocky Mountain Juniper
In the American West , the Rocky Mountain Juniper acquire at elevation between 1,600 and 8,900 feet . It can be detect in Colorado ’s western region , not the gamy Rocky Mountains . The Rocky Mountain Juniper produces two Chuck Berry - similar seed cone that develop after an additional yr and a one-half and are then eaten by wildlife .
Depending on the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree , the pollen cones might be virile or distaff . The Rocky Mountain Juniper is a long - be species that can live for up to 2,000 geezerhood and has fleeceable leaves rather than needles .
11 . Cork Bark Fir
An evergreen Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree native to the Western United States is the cork bark fir . Its needles are silver- gray , 1 – 1 ½ inch long , and usually point up . The barque is a creamy clean and resembles bob , hence the common name . Young Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree appear unresolved , and as they mature , they fill out .
The Cork Bark Fir is a stalwart Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree that can defy windy condition and substantial amounts of snow . Although they expect well - drained soil , they may inhabit in ironic environs as well . The Cork Bark Fir and Colorado Blue Spruce have interchangeable shapes and color .
12 . Pinon Pine
Native to Colorado , the Pion Pine is obtuse and heavy in appearance , making it idealistic for use as a wind or noise roadblock in residential landscape gardening .
The Pinon Pine develop to a size of it that is around half that of its wild counterpart on the Front Range . It is a tree that grows slowly , adding approximately 6 " each year . Both in cultivation and the wild , the Pion Pine has been observed reaching superlative of up to 9,000 foot above ocean level . The short , grayish - green needles are covered in the extremely sought- after pine conoid , which both humans and birds love .
13 . Norway Spruce
The Norway spruce is an evergreen with a broad conical form and myopic , dark-green needle . It has a idealistic crown and drooping secondary arm , which are initially relatively inflexible and loosen up with old age .
Given accession to enough urine , it is a tree that grows quickly . It require more wet than aboriginal evergreen plant and will plausibly ask additional irrigation when rainfall is deficient . Light to non-white gullible , rigid , and sharply pointed needle are grouped around the fore . When mature , the cones are cylindrical , light John Brown in colouring , and hang from the arm . The Norway Spruce favor sandlike , acidic , damp soil that drain well .
14 . Scotch Pine
A cone-bearing Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree have it off for its orangish proboscis is the Scotch Pine . In most case , unless the key drawing card is destroyed when young , it is straight - trunked . When young , it has a pyramidical build , which broaden with due date .
Because it can withstand a wide orbit of varied climatical and biological circumstances , including poor filth , drought , and frost , the Scotch Pine is the most widely distribute worldwide . The Scotch Pine is a pioneer species that can germinate in previously damage regions . It will not , however , put up with gentle wind pollution .
15 . Ponderosa Pine
Another native tree to Colorado that may reach elevations of 10,000 feet is the ponderosa pine . It is a fast - produce tree diagram with thick bark that serves as a windbreak and fervour resistance . The Ponderosa Pine boast long blue - green needle 1 ½ – 3 inches long , open branches , and obtuse secondary branching . It tends to drop off its bottom arm and take on a somewhat rounded conformation .
The Ponderosa Pine is a huge tree that grows best in xeric surroundings and should only be place in blank space where it can grow to its full size . It can be spotted in the wild with its roots in bare rocks and fling . It will develop in a variety of soil types .
What is the fastest-growing evergreen tree in Colorado?
The fastest - growing spruce , the Norway spruce , grows roughly 3 ' a year . Large yards profit significantly from its spread of 25–30 feet and height of up to 40–60 feet at full adulthood .
