About the Front Range Plant Finder
The Front Range Plant Finder is a searchable, photo-first reference for trees, shrubs, groundcover, and perennials that perform on Colorado's Front Range — from Colorado Springs to the Wyoming border, foothills to plains. Every plant is drawn from authoritative Colorado green-industry and extension sources, not generic national plant data.
The 2024 Front Range Tree Recommendation List®
The tree ratings here come from the 2024 Front Range Tree Recommendation List®, a consensus document developed by 16 representatives of Colorado's green industry. Trees are rated by how reliably they perform in regional conditions — alkaline soils, cold snaps, hail, wind, and low rainfall — and each carries critical and cautionary site factors to weigh before planting.
How we add shrubs, groundcover & perennials
Beyond the tree list, species are included from CSU Extension fact sheets, the Colorado Native Plant Society's Front Range Native Plant Guide, and Plant Select®. Mature size, water needs, native status, pollinator value, soil and pH tolerance, and hail/wind/salt tolerance are compiled from these references.
Sources & references
- 2024 Front Range Tree Recommendation List® — Developed by 16 Colorado green-industry representatives — ASLA, CNGA, CSU Extension, the Colorado Tree Coalition, CALCP, ISA, Denver Botanic Gardens, and the Colorado State Forest Service.
- CSU Extension — Fact sheets including 6.305 (Ignition-Resistant / FireWise plants) and native deer-resistant plant lists, plus mature-size and culture references.
- Colorado Native Plant Society — Front Range Native Plant Guide — native status and ecoregion data.
- Plant Select® — CSU + Denver Botanic Gardens program identifying plants that thrive in the high plains and intermountain West.
- Denver Botanic Gardens & the Colorado Tree Coalition — Mature height/spread and regional performance references.
- iNaturalist — Photos under commercial-safe Creative Commons licenses (CC0, CC BY, CC BY-SA), with per-photo attribution shown on each plant page.
Photos & attribution
Plant photos come from iNaturalist under commercial-safe Creative Commons licenses, with per-photo photographer attribution shown on each plant page. Photos under non-commercial (CC BY-NC) or all-rights-reserved licenses are excluded.