6 popular trees to include in your Colorado landscape & what to know about them before you invest.

Aspen Trees and Blue Spruces. Colorado is known for the Aspen groves and Blue Spruce trees. I had the privilege of growing up hiking in areas with Aspen trees that had to have been 100 years old, and Spruce trees that looked100 feet tall. The larger the trunk the older the tree, these trunks were showing their age, survival, strength, and maturity. These two types of trees are so famous people request them to be in their landscape, like a symbol saying you are in Colorado! (The state tree is the Blue Spruce). Here is what these two trees need to be happy living in landscape. Neither one like it when their roots get hot and dry. They become a tree that needs more water than usual, however at higher altitudes of 7200 and higher, those two tree types thrive, especially on the side of mountains or having great drainage is guaranteed, and so is cooler temperatures. Winter watering will be important to keep the roots from drying out or getting too warm. Any kind of ground cover plant protection will be beneficial for these high-altitude native trees. Kinnikinnick is a great evergreen carpet woody ground cover that would be a great companion for the Aspen or Spruce trees you put in your landscape at any altitude. Helping the roots stay cool will keep these trees thriving for many years in altitudes of 5280 to 7000 in Colorado. No matter what kind of Spruce tree you put in your yard they need the same kind of care.

Autumn Blaze Maple Trees. This tree I have selected is a variety of maple so popular in and around Denver that I see Garden Center Nurseries have dozens on hand at all times through the growing season. Why? It is all about that fall color being so bright red it's like looking at a blaze of fire, ergo the name. This Specific maple tree is a hybrid of a Silver Maple and Red Maple, and with that the Autumn Blaze Maple can get to 50 feet tall and wide. A few other characteristics is maple trees love water, the more they get the larger and faster they grow. That is not always a good thing to grow fast in a high dessert climate. When branches grow 2 plus feet in a season, they do not have strong branches, so in high winds or spring snows, those weaker branches will snap off. However, when a large mature tree has to be taken down in a yard, that leaves a huge empty space that needs to get filled up so the landscape does not feel so empty and incomplete. The recommendation for a fast-growing tree would be the Autumn Blaze Maple. As a fast-growing tree the root system is so focused on water consumption that it is not able to grab good micronutrients. When this happens, the tree absolutely could show being chlorotic by the summer. Meaning it will lose all its green pigment color in the leaves and they will look yellow. To keep this from happening, feed Autumn Blaze Maples in the springtime with Iron every year. Winter care is making sure they get there winter water. Also, if they are planted on the South, Southwest, West side of your property, the trunks need to be wrapped up when it's colder more than warm and unwrapped in the spring when it is more warm than cold. Sunscald is a serious issue with these guys because of our winds, warm sun, and dry climate. These maple trees are not as strong and tough handling the harshest of elements throughout the winter months. They are not native to the rocky mountain region, so they are going to need more attention to live a long and healthy life at a higher altitude.

Crabapple Trees. Anyone who has seen these trees bloom will be hit with the wow factor, that is why this was my number to for popularity. They are the replacement of the wow factor cherry blossoms bring. The Colorado climate is too harsh for those beautiful trees. So here comes the crabapple, with the different shades of pink petals, and large enough flowers to make to whole tree come alive. These pink variety crabapples will all have leaves with different shades of green and different leaf shapes. The blossom color most people are impressed with is the Royale Raindrop Crabapple. Most of the crabapples reach a nice 20 feet high and 20 feet wide so it's a smaller tree that will not over crowd in a small landscape. These trees do create little berries; they are for the birds and wildlife a great reason to invest in this tree. There is one particular variety called the Spring Snow Crabapple that does not produce fruit, has a lovely fragrance and pure white flowers a truly wonderful site to see year after year. There is one particular weakness to be aware of with crabapples and that is Fireblight(CSU Extension for Fireblight). Keep an eye out for a change in the way the tree appears, for example if parts of the canopy start to turn brown more rapidly.

Ornamental Plum Trees. These popular trees are what you want when you would like dark purple/maroon leaves to offset all the green around your Colorado landscape. They are popular for being tough, have gorgeous soft pink blossoms that will bloom early spring. They grow from 14' to 20' tall by the same in width. This is a great size for those smaller areas and the leaf size changes depending on the variety you choose. Add these trees to those windy front yards, or a side yard for privacy. These trees do not require constant watch, but they could use a deep root watering few days a week. They don't like to be over watered, and if they continue to be overwatered, the leaves will start to curl up, and aphids will become present in those curled leaves and make a home to continue their colony. If this happens stop watering, use a hose with the power sprayer and hose off the tree canopy and get those aphids off as best you can. Then go by lady bugs and release them into the tree. The lady bugs now have food for weeks! Use a 1-foot moisture meter to know when they tree has dried out. Then water the tree two maybe 3 days a week and us the moisture meter as guidance.

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Chanticleer Ornamental Pear Trees. This particular tree is for spaces that are 15' wide or smaller and up to 40' tall. They are popular in Malls and Plaza parking lots across the front range of Colorado. They stand out so well when it is there time to shine in the spring. In your landscape they can be a wind blocker and an airy privacy. They are also really hardy and do well in clay soils. What they don't like, is to be over watered. They are not like maples and don't want all the water in the world. They also attracted other kinds of insects when blooming and they do that by giving out a certain scent that to humans, smells unpleasant. So, I tell my clients to plant them along their fence line or property line, or driveway. The blooms only last 3 weeks and in the fall the leaves turn nice red. These guys can also get Fireblight,(CSU Exstention on Fireblight), keep a look out for any changes in how the tree looks.

Upright Junipers Trees. If you want any kind of live fence for privacy around your property in Colorado, this is what these evergreens are for and why they are so popular. They are mostly replacing Arborvitaes, not as sustainable or practical as the juniper. They can grow anywhere from 2' to 10' wide and reach about 20' tall. These upright junipers come in a few shades color ranging from green to blue. They can produce blue berries for the wildlife to eat if they get enough water to do so but don't over water them. Winter watering is helpful for best succuss season after season. One thing to just be aware of is they can possibly get what's called juniper-hawthorn rust. Always inspect your landscape once a month, you never know what tree you may save by what you see.

Emerald Arrow Bosnian Pine Trees. This pine is the choice you want to make when you need to cover some good space but don't need the huge Austrian pine (40ft tall X 40ft wide). This pine instead only goes 10' to 12' wide and only 20' tall and still taking up some good space. Pines also grow faster than spruces do, a nice little extra benefit, and when watering, just a few days a week of deep root watering will do. Clay soils are not a problem for this root system to work through and just feeding them once a year is good practice. Just be aware, like all pine trees, they shed some needles. One insect that can be attracted to your pine is black aphids. These little insects will usually be squatted closer to the newly growing tips of the branches in the late spring to summer. One other to watch out for is pine needle scale, especially if you see browning of the needles. But for the most part these guys are hardy and a great investment.

Now there are many more trees I did not mention, but with my years in the garden center life this list of trees gets the popular stamp from me. Next let me just share a little fertilizer advice. If your trees are 25 feet for smaller, you could do a deep feed and watering with those deep feed rods you can buy at any garden center. If you are not wanting to go that route then all mature trees 20 feet and up should get a visit at least once a year from an Arborist to do deep feed and watering. When the tree is new in the ground DO NOT feed it anything other than what went into the hole and compost till year 3. Then you can move to granular feeding from year 3 and on. Make sure to Winter Water at least 2 timers per month when the temperatures are above 40 degrees. This is very important for new trees especially adapting to Colorado environments.

"Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago"

- Warren Buffett