Best shade trees for the Colorado Front Range
Large-canopy trees that deliver real summer shade on the Front Range. Each matures to roughly 40 feet or taller and is rated for Colorado's climate, soils, and wind.
123 plants
Douglas-fir — Rocky Mountain Douglas firPseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca
Fir — WhiteAbies concolor
Maple — Boxelder 'Sensation'Acer negundo
Pine — LimberPinus flexilis
Pine — LodgepolePinus contorta
Pine — PonderosaPinus ponderosa
Pine — Southwestern WhitePinus strobiformis
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
Spruce — ColoradoPicea pungens
Spruce — Colorado Blue – BABY BLUE®, 'Baby Blue Eyes', 'Bakeri', 'Fastigiata', 'Fat Albert', 'Hoopsi', 'Colorado Weeping', 'Sester Dwarf'Picea pungens glauca
Spruce — Engleman SprucePicea engelmannii
Willow — PeachleafSalix amygdaloides
'Emerald Sunshine'Ulmus propinqua
'Green Vase', 'Village Green'Zelkova serrata
Alder — EuropeanAlnus glutinosa
all cultivarsUlmus parvifolia
Ash speciesFraxinus
Baldcypress — Baldcypress – SHAWNEE BRAVE™Taxodium distichum 'Mickelson'
Beech — European Beech, 'Riversii', 'Dawyck Purple'Fagus sylvatica
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
Black WalnutJuglans nigra
Buckeye/Horsechestnut — 'Briotti', 'Fort McNair'Aesculus x carnea
Buckeye/Horsechestnut — Common HorsechestnutAesculus hippocastanum
Buckeye/Horsechestnut — Ohio BuckeyeAesculus glabra
Buckeye/Horsechestnut — Yellow BuckeyeAesculus flava
Callery - 'Bradford'Pyrus calleryana
Catalpa — Northern/Western, HEARTLAND®Catalpa speciosa
Cedar — Cedar of LebanonCedrus libani
Coffeetree — Kentucky CoffeetreeGymnocladus dioicus- Coffeetree — Kentucky Coffeetree – ESPRESSO®, DECAF®, SKINNY LATTE™, PRAIRIE TITAN™Gymnocladus dioicus
Corktree — Amur corktreePhellodendron amurense
Crabapple — DolgoMalus 'Dolgo'
Cypress — Arizona CypressHesperocyparis arizonica
Dawn Redwood — Dawn RedwoodMetasequoia glyptostroboides
Dogwood — Giant – 'June Snow'Cornus controversa
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
Giant Sequoia — Giant Sequoia – 'Hazel Smith'Sequoiadendron giganteum
Ginkgo — Ginkgo/Maidenhair Tree, 'Princeton Sentry', 'Autumn Gold'Ginkgo biloba
Green GiantThuja standishii x Thuja plicata
Hackberry — Common Hackberry, PRAIRIE SENTINEL®Celtis occidentalis
Hazelnut — Turkish Filbert/HazelnutCorylus colurna
Hickory — PecanCarya illinoinensis
Honeylocust — Thornless Common – IMPERIAL®, SHADEMASTER®, SKYLINE®Gleditsia triacanthos- Honeylocust — Thornless Common – NORTHERN ACCLAIM®Gleditsia triacanthos
- Honeylocust — Thornless Common – SUNBURST®Gleditsia triacanthos
Hophornbeam — American HophornbeamOstrya virginiana
Hornbeam — 'Fastigiata'Carpinus betulus
Katsura — Katsura TreeCercidiphyllum japonicum
Larch — European LarchLarix decidua
Linden — 'Glenleven'Tilia x flavescens
Linden — 'Harvest Gold'Tilia cordata x mongolica
Linden — American- American Sentry™, 'Redmond'Tilia americana
Linden — Littleleaf – GREENSPIRE®Tilia cordata
Linden — Silver – 'Sterling Silver'Tilia tomentosa
Magnolia — CucumbertreeMagnolia acuminata
Maple — MiyabeAcer miyabei
Maple — Norway – 'Columnare', 'Crimson King', 'Crimson Sentry', 'Deborah', EMERALD LUSTER®, 'Emerald Queen', 'Fairview', 'Royal Red'Acer platanoides
Maple — NORWEGIAN SUNSET®, CRIMSON SUNSET®, PACIFIC SUNSET®Acer truncatum x platanoides
Maple — Red – 'Autumn Flame', REDPOINTE®, RED SUNSET®Acer rubrum
Maple — Sugar – Caddo 'John Pair', 'Autumn Splendor', FLASH FIRE®Acer saccharum- Maple — Sugar – GREEN MOUNTAIN®, LEGACY®, FALL FIESTA®Acer saccharum
Mountain-ash — EuropeanSorbus aucuparia- Mountain-ash — European – CARDINAL ROYAL®Sorbus aucuparia
Mountain-ash — Oak LeafSorbus x hybrida
Mountain-ash — Swedish WhitebeamSorbus intermedia
Northern PinQuercus ellipsoidalis
Oak — 'Urban Pinnacle'Quercus macrocarpa 'Urban Pinnacle'- Oak — BurQuercus macrocarpa
Oak — ChinkapinQuercus muehlenbergii
Oak — CRIMSON SPIRE®, STREETSPIRE®Quercus alba x robur
Oak — EnglishQuercus robur- Oak — English 'Columnaris'Quercus robur
Oak — HERITAGE®Quercus robur x macrocarpa
Oak — RedQuercus rubra
Oak — REGAL PRINCE®, KINDRED SPIRIT®Quercus robur x bicolor
Oak — SawtoothQuercus acutissima
Oak — ShingleQuercus imbricaria
Oak — ShumardQuercus shumardii
Oak — Swamp WhiteQuercus bicolor
Oak — Texas RedQuercus buckleyi
Oak — WhiteQuercus alba
Osage Orange 'White Shield'Maclura pomifera
Pagodatree — Japanese Pagodatree, Millstone™Styphnolobium japonicum- Pear — Callery – 'Aristocrat', CHANTICLEER® (aka 'Cleveland Select'), 'Autumn Blaze', 'Redspire'Pyrus calleryana
Pin OakQuercus palustris
Pine — Austrian 'Oregan Green'Pinus nigra
Pine — BosnianPinus heldreichii
Pine — Eastern WhitePinus strobus
Pine — LacebarkPinus bungeana
Pine — ScotchPinus sylvestris
Pine — Swiss Stone PinePinus cembra
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
Spruce — Black Hills 'Densata', 'Wiskey Blue Hills'Picea glauca
Spruce — SerbianPicea omorika
Sweetgum — American SweetgumLiquidambar styraciflua
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
Yellowwood — American YellowwoodCladrastis kentukea
Zelkova — Japanese Zelkovia 'Musashino'Zelkova serrata