Evergreen Timber are bushes that retain their leaves all year long.

Point out of the state of Colorado brings to thoughts photos of snow-peaked mountains, and streams lined with evergreen bushes.

The principle kinds of native evergreen bushes present in CO may be grouped as Pines, Firs, Junipers, and Spruce.

Nonetheless, there are a lot of extra evergreens you possibly can plant in CO, the place the USDA zones lengthen from the chilly 3a to the comparatively hotter 7a.

15 Glorious Evergreen Timber To Develop In Colorado

1. Alberta Spruce (Piceaglauca ‘Conica’)

2. Austrian Pine (Pinus nigra)

The Colorado Bristlecone Pine may be discovered within the southern portion of the Rocky Mountains and is considered one of a number of pine trees which might be native to CO has a strongly tapering and twisting trunk and a rounded, flattened irregular crown.

The bark is grey to reddish-brown and the contorted younger branches resemble lengthy bottlebrushes. The leaves are 5 per fascicle, upcurved and persist for 10-17 years, and are a deep blue-green coloration.

The seed cone of the Colorado Bristlecone Pine takes 2 years to mature. Within the wild, you’ll find the Colorado Bristlecone Pine within the subalpine to montane zones of Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona.

Different Widespread Names: Rocky Mountains Bristlecone Pine, Foxtail Pine, Hickory Pine

Rising Zones: 3-10

Common Dimension at Maturity: 8-20 ft tall and 10-15 ft vast

Flowering Season: N/A

4. Douglas-Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii)

The Douglas Fir is a conical-shaped, native evergreen tree with a fast growth rate. It’s extraordinarily adaptable to completely different soil sorts and could be very cold-tolerant. The cones of the Douglas Fir are 3-4” lengthy and are surrounded by bracts that resemble mouse tails.

Douglas Fir grows in pure, even-aged stands, normally after hearth. They are often present in a spread of various conditions, together with open forests and areas with pinegrass and mossy understories.

The Douglas Fir has bluish-green or yellowish-green needles, relying on the variability. The seeds are utilized by blue grouse, songbirds, squirrels, rabbits, and different small animals. Antelope, deer, mountain goats, and sheep eat the twigs and foliage.

The engaging development behavior of the Douglas Fir makes it common in parks and yards, in addition to being a very powerful timber species within the states.

Different Widespread Names: Douglasfir, Douglas Spruce, Oregon Pine, Purple Fir

Rising Zones: 5-7

Common Dimension at Maturity: 40-80 ft tall and 10-20 ft vast

Flowering Season: March to Could

5. Engelmann Spruce (Picea engelmanii)

The Engelmann Spruce is a straight trunked tree with a spire-like crown. It grows in areas with lengthy chilly winters and brief cool summers, alongside subalpine fir. The branches close to the bottom are inclined to droop. The leaves have 4 needles and are sharp however not inflexible. They’re bluish-green with white bands on the higher and decrease sides.

The seed cones are yellow to purplish-brown and the papery scales are tapered on either side. The bark is free, scaly, and reddish-brown. The Engelmann Spruce grows finest in areas with deep, wealthy soils with satisfactory moisture.

Different Widespread Names: Silver Spruce, White Spruce, Mountains Spruce

Rising Zones: 3-8

Common Dimension at Maturity: 70-100 ft tall and 10-15 ft vast

Flowering Season: April – Could

6. Spartan Chinese language Juniper (Juniperus chinensis ‘Spartan’)

The Spartan Chinese language Juniper is a slim, pyramidal, columnar evergreen tree with a development behavior just like the Italian Cypress. It’s fast-growing with erect branches and scale-like darkish green foliage. It provides a lovely vertical accent to the panorama and supplies year-round curiosity. It additionally features properly as a windbreak or hedge.

The Spartan Chinese language Juniper is tolerant of warmth, chilly, salt, and drought, and might simply be cultivated in most well-drained soils, together with clay. It’s a low-maintenance species that requires no pruning.

Different Widespread Names: Chinese language Juniper, Green Spartan Juniper

Rising Zones: 5b-10

Common Dimension at Maturity: 15-25 ft tall and 4-8 ft vast

Flowering Season: N/A

7. Japanese Purple Cedar (Juniperus virginiana)

The Japanese Purple Cedar normally has a shrub-like kind within the wild however can tackle a pyramidal form when cultivated. In summer time, the foliage is dense and green, and turns a rusty copper hue within the fall however isn’t shed, so supplies a lovely distinction to the remainder of the panorama.

The Japanese Purple Cedar will develop finest in dry, rocky soils in full solar. As with most different junipers, it’s slow-growing. While native to the east coast, it’s cultivated in CO underneath 6,000 ft as a windbreak and for its decorative worth. Plant with warning because it’s a ladder gasoline in wildfire conditions and is named an allergen-producing tree for some folks.

Different Widespread Names: Japanese Purple Cedar, Virginian Juniper, Purple Juniper, Japanese Juniper

Rising Zones: 2-9

Common Dimension at Maturity: 40-50 ft tall and 8-20 ft vast

Flowering Season: April/Could

8. One-Seed Juniper (Juniperus monosperma)

The One-Seed Juniper is discovered within the Southwestern states and performs an necessary function within the native ecology. It supplies a house for wildlife and features as a nursery plant by offering micro-climates for species that may’t deal with the scorching solar.

For sure, it’s properly tailored to the tough desert local weather. While not a giant tree, at maturity, its taproot can attain 200 ft beneath the bottom.

One-Seed Juniper is dioecious, which means there are separate female and male bushes. The cones mature after about 5 months on feminine bushes to shades of darkish blue and purple. It’ll develop in sandy, gravelly, and free rocky soils in full solar to partial shade.

Different Widespread Names: Cherrystone Juniper, New Mexico Cedar

Rising Zones: 5-9

Common Dimension at Maturity: 12-35 ft tall and 6-10 ft vast

Flowering Season: March/April

9. Concolor Fir (Abies concolor)

The Concolor Fir is an evergreen with a medium development charge of round 12” a yr. The needles are upward-pointing, 1 ½ inch lengthy, and are positioned on the prime aspect of the branches. They’re blue/green/silver in coloration and have a faint citrus aroma when crushed and persist for a decade. The branching is low to the bottom.

Within the wild, it may be discovered rising with Colorado Spruce and Douglas Fir, in rocky areas of the excessive plains, normally between 3,000 and 9,000 ft in areas with low humidity.

Different Widespread Names: White Fir

Rising Zones: 3-7

Common Dimension at Maturity: 30-50 ft tall and 15-25 ft vast

Flowering Season: N/A

10. Rocky Mountain Juniper (Juniperus scopulorum)

The Rocky Mountain Juniper grows within the American West at elevations between 1,600 and eight,900. In Colorado it’s discovered within the Western a part of the state, and never within the excessive Rockies. The Rocky Mountain Juniper produces berry-like seed cones, containing 2 seeds, which mature after a yr and a half after which they’re consumed by wildlife.

The pollen cones may be both male or feminine relying on the tree. The Rocky Mountain Juniper options green leaves (not needles) and is a long-lived species, able to reaching between 1,500 – 2,000 years previous.

Different Widespread Names: Mountain Purple Cedar, Weeping Juniper, Rocky Mountain Redcedar

Rising Zones: 4-9a

Common Dimension at Maturity: 30-40 ft tall and 3-15 ft vast

Flowering Season: April – Could

11. Cork Bark Fir (Abies lasiocarpa arizonica)

The Cork Bark Fir is an evergreen that grows across the Western US. Its needles are silver-gray, 1 – 1 ½ inches lengthy, and normally level upwards. The widespread title comes from the creamy white bark which seems to be like cork. Younger bushes have an open side, and fill out as they age.

The Cork Bark Fir is a hardy tree that can tolerate windy areas and heavy snow. While they like well-drained soil, they may also survive in dry situations. The Cork Bark Fir seems to be pretty much like the Colorado Blue Spruce in form and coloration.

Different Widespread Names: Subalpine Fir, Alpine Fir, Balsam Fir, White Balsam, Rocky Mountain Fir, Western Balsam Fir

Rising Zones: 4a-8b

Common Dimension at Maturity: 50-90 ft tall and 40-65 ft vast

Flowering Season: N/A

12. Piñon Pine (Pinus edulis)

The Piñon Pine is a Colorado native that has a dense and heavy side making it good as a noise or wind barrier within the house panorama. Within the Entrance Vary, the Piñon Pine grows smaller than when discovered within the wild, reaching about half of its wild dimension. Its a gradual rising tree, with will increase of about 6” a yr.

The Piñon Pine may be seen rising as much as 9,000 ft above sea degree, each in cultivation and within the wild.The needles are brief and grayish green, and the cones include the extremely prized pine cones, favored by birds and people alike.

Different Widespread Names: Two-Needle Pinyon, Nut Pine, Colorado Pinyon, Colorado Piñon, Widespread Piñon, Mesa Piñon

Rising Zones: 4-7

Common Dimension at Maturity: 12-36 ft tall and 10-20 ft vast

Flowering Season: Spring

13. Norway Spruce (Picea abies)

The Norway Spruce is a broadly conically formed evergreen with brief green needles. It encompasses a tall crown and drooping secondary branches which might be considerably inflexible when younger, turning into extra relaxed with age.

It’s a fast-growing tree offered it’s given entry to ample water. It has larger moisture wants than native evergreens and can doubtless want supplemental irrigation when rainfall is scarce.

The needles are light-to-dark green, stiff and sharply pointed, organized across the stem. The cones are mild brown upon maturity, cylindrical and hold off the branches. The Norway Spruce prefers moist, sandy, acid, well-drained soil.

Different Widespread Names: Norway Spruce

Rising Zones: 3-7

Common Dimension at Maturity: 40-60 ft tall and 25-30 ft vast

Flowering Season: June

14. Scotch Pine (Pinus sylvestris)

The Scotch Pine is a coniferous tree distinguished by its orange trunk. It’s normally straight-trunked except the central chief is broken when younger. It has a pyramidal form when younger that broadens out with age.

Globally, the Scotch Pine is probably the most distributed Pine, being tolerant of poor soils, drought and frost, and a plethora of various climatic and ecological situations. The Scotch Pine is a pioneer species that can develop in beforehand disturbed areas. Nonetheless, It gained’t tolerate air air pollution.

The Scotch Pine will develop from sea degree as much as 8,500 ft above sea degree.

Different Widespread Names: Scots Pine, Baltic Pine

Rising Zones: 3-7

Common Dimension at Maturity: 30-60 ft tall and 30-40 ft vast

Flowering Season: Could-June

15. Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa)

All the time Green

Colorado is a state recognized for its unbeatable Rocky Mountain panorama. For a lot of, point out of CO conjures of photos snowy mountains and evergreen forests.

Evergreen bushes grace the panorama and may be admired within the wild or planted in your personal yard, no matter the place you might be on this huge and diverse state.

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Thomas labored for a lot of years as the top of plant propagation for a horticultural contractor taking good care of many alternative species of decorative bushes & shrubs. He realized how you can propagate sure endangered endemic species and has a love of permaculture, sustainability and acutely aware residing. When Thomas isn’t climbing in nature he may be discovered taking part in music, studying a e-book, or consuming fruit underneath a tree.