Native Plants for Denver

By Idelle, March 12, 2021

Native Plants for Denver and Front Range

Here is a list of native plants that are good for the Denver area that Alex of westernnativeseed.com was so nice to email to me, so I thought I’d share!

From Alex: I may have overlooked a few species, but here is a list of natives to the region or adapted to it:

Denver Native Plants list from westernnativeseed.com

Download Denver Native Plants PDF »

Note: This is not a complete list of all native plants for the Denver area, this is a list of natives that they have seeds for at: westernnativeseed.com

Another great resource for plants that thrive in Denver and the Front Range from the Colorado Native Plant Society:
Low-Water Native Plants for Colorado Gardens PDF

Other ways to get Native Plant Seeds in Denver:
Go to a Denver Native Plant Seed Swap!

FREE Native Seed Swaps

Northern Colorado Native Seed Swap
Bolster your bird-friendly garden this fall with native seeds!
Saturday, October 23, 2021
10:00am – 1:00pm Mountain

Fort Collins, Colorado
Wolverine Farm Publick House
316 Willow St, Fort Collins, 80524

Learn more at:
rockies.audubon.org/events/northern-colorado-native-seed-swap
frontrangewildones.org
peopleandpollinators.org

You can also go to your local garden nursery or shop and ask them about native plants and seeds. The more of us who ask our local nurseries about native plants for the area, the more likely they’ll add Native Plant Sections – just like they’ve added xeric plant and rose sections. Wouldn’t it be great if every garden center and nursery had a large section of natives plants, shrubs and trees that thrive in the area? Not only do they benefit wildlife, native plants are also much easier to care for and look beautiful, too. It’s a win-win.


Other Denver Native Plant Resources:


Colorado Native Plant & Seed Sources »

A growing list of native plant and seed vendors from Landscaping with Colorado Native Plants Conference & Wild Ones Front Range Chapter.

Colorado Native Plants Society’s Resources »
Find a lot more info on native plants with all their various documents for native plants in Colorado.

Read this book:
Nature’s Best Hope by Douglas Tallamy
It is an amazingly interesting read that will inspire you to plant natives to support birds and other wildlife and create your own Homegrown National Park in your own landscape! Many of the plants he mentions are more suited to the east coast, so keep this in mind when reading it – but the same idea applies anywhere you live, plant native plants for your region and you’re bound to bring in more birds, butterflies and bees.


Native Plants for Denver Area:

Note: This is the same list as in the graphic above, in text format for easy copying and pasting or searching.

Find seeds for all of these Denver native plants listed here at: www.westernnativeseed.com

Grasses
Achnatherum hymenoides ‘Paloma’    Indian Ricegrass
Andropogon gerardii ‘Kaw’    Big Bluestem
Bouteloua curtipendula ‘Vaughn’    
Bouteloua gracilis ‘Hachita’    Blue Grama
Buchloe dactyloides ‘Texoka’    Buffalo Grass
Elymus elymoides ‘Pueblo’    Bottlebrush Squirreltail
Hesperostipa comata    Needle & Thread
Koeleria macrantha    Junegrass
Nassella viridula ‘Cucharas’    Green Needlegrass
Panicum virgatum ‘Blackwell’    Switchgrass
Pascopyrum smithii ‘Arriba’    Western Wheatgrass
Pleuraphis jamesii    Galleta
Poa fendleriana    Mutton Grass
Poa secunda ‘Sims Mesa’    Sandberg’s Bluegrass
Schizachyrium scoparium ‘Badlands’    Little Bluestem 
Sorghastrum nutans ‘Cheyenne’    Indian Grass
Sporobolus airoides    Alkali Sacaton
Sporobolus cryptandrus    Sand Dropseed

Wildflowers
Achillea millefolium occidentalis ‘Eagle’    Western Yarrow
Amorpha canescens    Leadplant
Asclepias incarnata    Swamp Milkweed – wet areas
Asclepias speciosa    Showy Milkweed – wet areas
Berlandiera lyrata    Chocolate Flower
Castilleja integra    Indian Paintbrush
Cleome serrulata    Rocky Mountain Bee Plant
Coreopsis tinctoria    Plains Coreopsis
Dalea candida    White Prairie Clover
Dalea purpurea    Purple Prairie Clover
Delphinium virescens    Prairie Larkspur
Engelmannia peristenia    Engelmann’s Daisy
Erysimum capitatum    Wallflower
Hedysarum boreale    Utah Sweetvetch
Helenium autumnale    Sneezeweed – wet areas
Helianthus annuus    Annual Sunflower
Helianthus nuttallii    Marsh Sunflower – wet areas
Helianthus petiolaris    Plains Sunflower
Helianthus pumilus    Foothills Sunflower
Heliomeris multiflora    Showy Goldeneye
Ipomopsis aggregata    Scarlet Gilia
Liatris punctata    Dotted Gayfeather
Linum lewisii    Maple Grove Blue Flax
Lupinus pusillus    Ant Money
Mimulus guttatus    Yellow Monkey Flower – wet areas
Mirabilis multiflora    Wild Four ‘O Clock
Monarda fistulosa    Wild Bergamot
Monarda pectinata    Beebalm
Oenothera caespitosa    Stemless Evening Primrose
Oenothera elata    Riparian Primrose
Oenothera pallida    Pale Evening Primrose
Oligoneuron rigidum    Stiff Goldenrod
Opuntia macrorhiza    Twist Spine Prickly Pear
Oxytropis sericea    Silky Locoweed
Penstemon angustifolius    Pagoda Penstemon
Penstemon grandiflorus    Shell Leaf Penstemon
Penstemon secundiflorus    Orchid Beardtongue
Penstemon virgatus    Wand Beardtongue
Polanisia dodecandra    Clammyweed
Ratibida columnifera    Prairie Coneflower
Ratibida columnifera pulchra    Mexican Hat
Rudbeckia hirta    Black-eyed Susan
Rudbeckia laciniata ampla    Cutleaf Coneflower – wet areas
Sphaeralcea coccinea    Scarlet Globemallow
Symphyotrichum laeve    Smooth Aster
Tetraneuris acaulis    Goldflower
Thelesperma filifolium    Green Threadleaf
Tradescantia occidentalis    Western Spiderwort
Verbena hastata    Blue Vervain – wet areas

Shrubs
Atriplex canescens    Fourwing Saltbush
Ericameria nauseosa    Rubber Rabbitbrush
Krascheninnikovia lanata    Winterfat
Rhus trilobata    Skunkbrush Sumac
Ribes aureum    Golden Currant
Yucca glauca    Spanish Bayonet