Colorado Natives

This mix contains annuals and perennials that are native to the north central region of the United States and parts of southern Canada. This area includes North Dakota, South Dakota, eastern Montana, eastern Wyoming, eastern Colorado, the western and central portions of Kansas and Nebraska, southeast Alberta and southern Saskatchewan. Many of these species are derived from seed sources located within this geographical area.

The Sneezeweed Helenium produces a numerous amount of beautiful, large, daisy-like yellow flowers that bloom in the late summer and early autumn! Despite its common name, this variety presents no problems for most allergy sufferers.

Homemade syrups, jams, pies and wines all start with the dark purple berries of this fast-growing native shrub. American Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis) is crowned in early summer with broad, flat clusters of creamy white flowers, which are used for cordials and teas, before heavy clusters of berries follow. It thrives in moist soil, spreads into an attractive thicket, and is a magnet for pollinators and songbirds. This northern collection is especially cold hardy.

Mud Plantain is an emergent native of North American pond margins, marshes, and other shallow, quiet water. Its roots were historically used as food and in traditional remedies, a record of the plant's long relationship with wetland communities. White summer flowers rise above broad leaves, and the plant provides food and cover for waterfowl, fish, and amphibians. Choose a sunny, consistently wet site or a naturalized water garden.

Early Sunflower (Heliopsis helianthoides) is a short-lived native perennial with bright yellow, daisy-like flowers from early summer into early fall. Upright clumps reach about 5 feet tall and support bees, butterflies, and seed-eating birds. Plants perform best in full sun and tolerate loam, clay, or sandy soils with medium moisture. Seed requires 30 days of cold, moist stratification before germination.

Wild Golden Glow (Rudbeckia laciniata) is a tall native perennial with bright yellow flowers that bloom from midsummer into fall. Plants reach about 7 feet and spread by rhizomes, making them well suited to moist naturalized gardens, woodland edges, and rain-garden plantings. The flowers support bees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects, while mature seed heads provide food for birds. Seed requires 30 days of cold, moist stratification and should be surface sown.

This mix contains annuals and perennials that are native to mountainous regions of the western United States and Canada. Use it for elevations above 7,000 feet in the continental U.S. and southern Alberta and British Columbia. It is also suitable for all elevations in southern Alaska.

S. and Canadian prairies, historically thriving in moist meadows and open grasslands and long recognized for its exceptional value to monarch butterflies, which flock to its nectar-rich blooms during migration. It produces tall, airy stems topped with loose spikes of vibrant, feathery purple flowers, each with elongated styles that give the blossoms a delicate, wispy appearance. The plant’s narrow leaves form an attractive upright clump, and its blooms appear later in the season, providing important late-summer nectar.

The Canada Wildrye is a cool-season bunchgrass grain variety that can be found throughout Canada and the U.S. except in the southeastern states. It is typically found in prairies, open woods, fields and disturbed sites. This grain tends to be short-lived but provides quick stabilization for erosion control seedings, and it makes a good, early successional component of prairie mixtures. The Canada Wildrye provides quality forage for livestock and wildlife.

From the northern plains to mountain foothills, this hardy, adaptable native thrives. Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana) bears fragrant, bottlebrush-like spikes of white flowers in spring, followed by clusters of glossy, dark red to black cherries in late summer. The tart fruit makes wonderful jelly and syrup, and birds flock to it. Its suckering, thicket-forming habit is excellent for windbreaks, wildlife plantings and stabilizing slopes.

Nodding Bur Marigold is a native annual of North American wet meadows and marsh edges. Its old names Beggar's Tick and Sticktight recall the hooked seeds that cling to passing animals. Golden, sunflower-like flowers feed bees, butterflies, skippers, and moths; later, ducks and songbirds eat the seeds. Plant in full sun and wet to moist ground, where it can reseed naturally.

Saw-tooth Sunflower (Helianthus grosseserratus) is a distinctive North American native plant. Tall reddish-purple stems and sharply toothed leaves support clusters of yellow blooms that feed insects and seed-eating birds. It matures at approximately 96 inches tall and flowers from mid to late summer through early to mid fall. Plant it in full sun to partial shade, in dry-medium through medium-wet conditions, with loamy soil or clay soil. Space plants 36–48 inches apart for healthy growth and airflow.

Lead Plant (Amorpha canescens) is a distinctive North American native plant. Silvery foliage and purple flower spikes make this deep-rooted prairie legume a durable choice for dry gardens and pollinator plantings. It matures at approximately 36 inches tall and flowers from late spring to early summer through early to mid summer. Plant it in full sun to partial shade, in dry to medium conditions, with loamy soil, sandy soil or poor soil. Space plants 12–24 inches apart for healthy growth and airflow.

Western Sand Milkweed (Asclepias arenaria), also known as Sandhill Milkweed or Dwarf Milkweed, is a hardy, drought-tolerant species native to the sandy plains and prairies of the central and southwestern United States, where it has long supported pollinators and played a role in Indigenous plant knowledge. This milkweed forms upright stems with soft, velvety, blue-green leaves and produces clusters of pale greenish-white flowers that are highly attractive to monarchs, bees, and other beneficial insects.

The Buffalo Grass is a warm-season grass that is the predominant component of the shortgrass prairies of the Great Plains. Once established, it is extremely drought tolerant and tough. It can be used as a xeriscape lawn grass for water conservation, and it is a common component in range mixtures. White Tailed Deer, Bison and Prairie Dogs utilize it for forage, and it is a larval host for the Green Skipper. Plants are stoloniferous and can invade flower beds if an edging or barrier is not used.

High in the mountains of the Southwest, a slow-growing, long-lived native holds on with the twisted, character-filled form that made Bristlecone Pine famous. Pinus aristata carries dense, bottlebrush-like tufts of short blue-green needles flecked with tiny white resin dots, and its cones bear small bristles on each scale. Compact and tough, it is a great fit for rock gardens, small yards, containers and bonsai.

Fragrant white blossoms cover this tough, thicket-forming native in early spring, before the leaves emerge. American Plum (Prunus americana) follows its flowers with small, sweet-tart red to yellow plums in late summer, perfect for fresh eating, jams and pies. It is extremely hardy and drought tolerant, and its dense growth makes a great windbreak, wildlife shelter or edible hedge on farms and larger properties.

Living Christmas trees, windbreaks and striking specimens are all within reach of this classic, symmetrical evergreen. Colorado Blue Spruce (Picea pungens glauca) has stiff, silvery blue-green needles and a dense pyramidal form, and it is extremely cold hardy. This Apache seed source grows faster than many other blue spruce sources, and a good share of seedlings develop the prized silvery blue color as they mature. It is a rugged native of the Rocky Mountains that tolerates wind and dry spells.

Windbreaks, screens and erosion control plantings rarely get a better candidate than this tough, adaptable native evergreen. Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana) has dense, aromatic foliage and a neat pyramidal to columnar shape, and it shrugs off cold, heat, drought, wind and poor soil. Female trees carry dusty blue berries through fall and winter that birds love, and the fragrant reddish wood has been prized for generations.

Water Horehound is native to nearly all of the contiguous United States and has long occupied open marshes, fens, and wet meadows. Although it belongs to the mint family, its foliage lacks the strong mint scent; small white flowers sit in the leaf axils. Those flowers can serve small pollinating insects, while the stems add cover in wetland habitat. Give it sun or partial shade and moist to wet soil.

Seedbox is a North American native of moist prairies and marsh edges, named for its distinctive cube-shaped seed capsule. Small yellow flowers appear at the leaf joints on reddish stems. Bees visit the blooms and leaf-feeding insects use the foliage. Grow it in sun to partial shade in medium-wet soil or a rain garden.

Fowl Manna Grass is one of North America's most widespread wetland grasses, occurring from shaded woodland pools to open marshes. Its airy panicles and soft foliage provide cover for small animals. Geese graze the leaves, and the moth Elachista irrorata uses it as a host plant. Grow it in sun or shade on moist to wet soil.

Blunt Spike Rush is a small North American wetland native with a different life history from many rushes: it is an annual that reseeds. Upright stems and compact seed heads offer cover for frogs and perches for dragonflies. Aquatic beetles, leafhoppers, and shore flies also use its wet habitat. Sow in full sun on mud or consistently wet soil.

Plains Oval Sedge, historically also called Shortbeak Sedge, occurs across North American open ground, from dry disturbed sites to seasonally flooded margins. Golden-brown oval seed spikes stand above a compact mound in fall. Like other native sedges, it contributes seed and cover to birds and habitat for small insects. Its wide moisture tolerance makes it useful in sunny or partly shaded restoration plantings.

Blue Joint Grass is a widespread North American wetland grass with a long natural role in streamside and meadow plant communities. Pink-green summer seed heads rise above rhizomes that help hold damp soil in place. Its dense growth offers cover for wetland insects and birds, and it can spread quickly across restoration sites. Give it full sun to partial shade and moist to wet ground.

North American Wildflower Blend combines annual and perennial favorites selected to perform across many regions of the United States. The varied species create a broad tapestry of familiar colors, with annuals providing quick blooms and perennials adding longer-term persistence. Local climate and soil conditions determine which flowers become most prominent, giving each planting its own regional character.

Idaho Fescue is a fine-textured perennial bunchgrass native to western North America. Its blue-green foliage is well suited to low-water landscapes, erosion control, restoration, and native grass plantings.

Puzzle-piece plates form in the handsome cinnamon-orange bark as this classic big pine of the American West ages. Ponderosa Pine (Pinus ponderosa) has long, bright green needles and is drought tolerant, adaptable and long-lived, making it a top pick for windbreaks, reforestation and large landscapes. This seed comes from Oregon, Washington and California sources, which tend to grow faster than interior sources but are a bit less cold hardy.

Western Native Grass Mix combines seven grasses adapted to dry western sites below about 6,000 feet. Cool- and warm-season growth produces a changing display of fine foliage, upright stems, and ornamental seed heads. Plants mature around one to three feet, offering meadow character without the scale of tallgrass species. The diverse root systems strengthen soil and support wildlife in low-input landscapes.

Southern Plains Native Grass Mix unites short- and mid-height prairie grasses adapted to sun, wind, and periodic drought. Warm- and cool-season species share the stand, giving the planting a longer active season and varied seed-head form. Most growth stays between one and three feet, making the blend useful around homes as well as in broad meadow projects. Dense roots protect soil while mature stems furnish food and shelter for wildlife.

Foothills Native Grass Mix combines warm- and cool-season species selected for western mountain foothills between roughly 5,500 and 8,200 feet. The blend creates a varied meadow texture with bunchgrasses adapted to lean, seasonally dry ground. Deep and fibrous roots contribute durable cover for naturalized landscapes and reclamation work. It can be planted alone or paired with regionally appropriate native wildflowers.