Fast-growing shade trees for the Colorado Front Range
Want summer shade sooner? These large-canopy trees put on height quickly for the Front Range — each is a fast grower that matures to roughly 40 feet or taller. Growth rate depends on water and site, so deep-water young trees to get them established.
45 plants
Maple — Boxelder 'Sensation'Acer negundo
Poplar (cottonwood) — HighlandPopulus x acuminata x sargentii
Poplar (cottonwood) — LanceleafPopulus x acuminata
Poplar (cottonwood) — NarrowleafPopulus angustifolia
Poplar (cottonwood) — Plains 'Jeronimus'Populus deltoides subsp. monilifera
Poplar (cottonwood) — Quaking AspenPopulus tremuloides
Willow — PeachleafSalix amygdaloides
'Emerald Sunshine'Ulmus propinqua
Alder — EuropeanAlnus glutinosa
all cultivarsUlmus parvifolia
Ash speciesFraxinus
Birch — Asian White – 'Whitespire', DAKOTA PINNACLE®, PARKLAND PILLAR®Betula platyphylla
Birch — European White – 'Gracilis'Betula pendula
Birch — River – HERITAGE®Betula nigra
Black Locust - 'Purple Robe'Robinia pseudoacacia
Callery - 'Bradford'Pyrus calleryana
Catalpa — Northern/Western, HEARTLAND®Catalpa speciosa
Elm — 'Frontier'Ulmus minor x U. parvifolia
Elm — 'New Horizon'Ulmus japonica x U. pumila 'New Horizon'
Elm — 'Prospector'Ulmus davidiana var. japonica- Elm — ACCOLADE® ('Morton')Ulmus davidiana var. japonica
Elm — American – 'Valley Forge', 'New Harmony', 'Princeton'Ulmus americana
Elm — David, GREENSTONE®, CHOICECITY®Ulmus davidiana
Elm — TRIUMPH® ElmUlmus x 'Morton Glossy'
Freeman - 'Armstrong', AUTUMN BLAZE®, AUTUMN FANTASY®, SIENNA GLENN®Acer x freemanii
Honeylocust — Thornless Common – IMPERIAL®, SHADEMASTER®, SKYLINE®Gleditsia triacanthos- Honeylocust — Thornless Common – NORTHERN ACCLAIM®Gleditsia triacanthos
- Honeylocust — Thornless Common – SUNBURST®Gleditsia triacanthos
Linden — American- American Sentry™, 'Redmond'Tilia americana
Maple — Red – 'Autumn Flame', REDPOINTE®, RED SUNSET®Acer rubrum
Osage Orange 'White Shield'Maclura pomifera- Pear — Callery – 'Aristocrat', CHANTICLEER® (aka 'Cleveland Select'), 'Autumn Blaze', 'Redspire'Pyrus calleryana
Planetree — American sycamorePlatanus occidentalis
Planetree — London Planetree 'EXCLAMATION!®'Platanus x acerifolia
Poplar (cottonwood) — EasternPopulus deltoides- Poplar (cottonwood) — PRAIRIE GOLD®Populus tremuloides
Poplar (cottonwood) — Upright European, AspenPopulus tremula 'Erecta'
Silver - all cultivarsAcer saccharinum
TowerPopulus x canescens 'Tower'
Tuliptree — TuliptreeLiriodendron tulipifera- Tuliptree — Tuliptree, EMERALD CITY®Liriodendron tulipifera
White poplarPopulus alba
Willow — Niobe Weeping – 'Tristis'Salix alba
Willow — Prairie Cascade, WeepingSalix x 'Prairie Cascade'- Willow — Russian Golden – 'Vitellina'Salix alba