Colorado Native Grasses Best for Landscaping
If you live in a state like Colorado that can feel like it has hundred-and-one seasons mixed into half the year, gardening is no small feat. Plants, trees, and grasses have to be carefully selected – and in many parts of Colorado, native plants and grasses will grow best.
Colorado Native Grasses Best for Landscaping
Grass can be a tough one for many gardeners. Not to plant, no, but to keep in good condition for most of the year. Non-native grass and plant types aren’t adapted to the temperature changes and might die off close to the height of their growth.
If you want a garden to thrive, then you should plant the absolute best.
The thing is… Many gardeners don’t know what “the best” is without some research or experience.
Here’s a closer look at the Colorado native grasses that are considered best for local landscaping.
A Crash Course (or Two) in Landscaping
Landscaping sounds big, imposing, and complicated.
While it’s a whole career for many professionals and the sentence can apply to some huge home jobs, it’s not large and complicated for most changes you would need in your yard.
YouTube is a great place to research new ideas or techniques. Gardening forums are also a great place to learn, and an online gardening and landscaping community is always a wonderful new avenue for questions and observations.
If you want to make changes to your land, a crash course (or two) in landscaping is a good idea.
So, you’re in Colorado.
The first step, though many gardeners surprisingly forget to do this, is to make sure that you know the place. Without knowledge, you have almost no idea what you’re doing – and you’re just planting random things with hope, not any practical knowledge.
For landscaping changes, check out your area or address on a topography map. It can show you some of the highs and lows that you can’t see with the naked eye.
MapHill offers a full map of Colorado with added detail, but Google Earth works just as well.
Next, check the weather – and examine previous weather reports for the time of year you’re planting in. Accuweather is one of the best websites for live weather reports.
The Best Colorado Native Grasses
1. Red Fescue
Red fescue, grouped under the fescue-type of grass, is also known by its scientific name Festuca Rubra. Sometimes the grass type is also called “creeping red” as an informal name, due to its matted and red appearance.
2. Rabbitbrush
Rabbitbrush (or Ericameria nauseosa) loves mountain-based conditions being a Colorado grass, and likes to grow as much as 8,000 feet above sea level – but doesn’t have to. Though this type of grass is mostly wild, it can also be planted in controlled conditions – and can flourish in the right garden.
3. Kentucky Bluegrass
Kentucky Bluegrass isn’t just a music genre, but also a grass type. KBG is almost native to Colorado, though not exclusively. Kentucky Bluegrass is often grown for its heightened resistance against weather changes and diseases that would have wiped out almost any other type of grass.
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Colorado Native Grasses Best for Landscaping
If you live in a state like Colorado that can feel like it has hundred-and-one seasons mixed into half the year, gardening is no small feat. Plants, trees, and grasses have to be carefully selected – and in many parts of Colorado, native plants and grasses will grow best.
Colorado Native Grasses Best for Landscaping
Grass can be a tough one for many gardeners. Not to plant, no, but to keep in good condition for most of the year. Non-native grass and plant types aren’t adapted to the temperature changes and might die off close to the height of their growth.
If you want a garden to thrive, then you should plant the absolute best.
The thing is… Many gardeners don’t know what “the best” is without some research or experience.
Here’s a closer look at the Colorado native grasses that are considered best for local landscaping.
A Crash Course (or Two) in Landscaping
Landscaping sounds big, imposing, and complicated.
While it’s a whole career for many professionals and the sentence can apply to some huge home jobs, it’s not large and complicated for most changes you would need in your yard.
YouTube is a great place to research new ideas or techniques. Gardening forums are also a great place to learn, and an online gardening and landscaping community is always a wonderful new avenue for questions and observations.
If you want to make changes to your land, a crash course (or two) in landscaping is a good idea.
So, you’re in Colorado.
The first step, though many gardeners surprisingly forget to do this, is to make sure that you know the place. Without knowledge, you have almost no idea what you’re doing – and you’re just planting random things with hope, not any practical knowledge.
For landscaping changes, check out your area or address on a topography map. It can show you some of the highs and lows that you can’t see with the naked eye.
MapHill offers a full map of Colorado with added detail, but Google Earth works just as well.
Next, check the weather – and examine previous weather reports for the time of year you’re planting in. Accuweather is one of the best websites for live weather reports.
The Best Colorado Native Grasses
1. Red Fescue
Red fescue, grouped under the fescue-type of grass, is also known by its scientific name Festuca Rubra. Sometimes the grass type is also called “creeping red” as an informal name, due to its matted and red appearance.
2. Rabbitbrush
Rabbitbrush (or Ericameria nauseosa) loves mountain-based conditions being a Colorado grass, and likes to grow as much as 8,000 feet above sea level – but doesn’t have to. Though this type of grass is mostly wild, it can also be planted in controlled conditions – and can flourish in the right garden.
3. Kentucky Bluegrass
Kentucky Bluegrass isn’t just a music genre, but also a grass type. KBG is almost native to Colorado, though not exclusively. Kentucky Bluegrass is often grown for its heightened resistance against weather changes and diseases that would have wiped out almost any other type of grass.
Additional Information: Native Grasses For Use In Colorado Landscapes – Colorado State University
