By Stephanie Swartz
Special to Boulder Beat

The plants in these sortable lists are suited for the climate of Colorado’s Front Range. They are all perennial, xeric and prefer well-drained soil.

Perennials live for two or more years, as opposed to annuals that live only one year. Xeric plants have low irrigation requirements once established.

Establishment can take a few years, so plan to water more initially and gradually reduce irrigation over the next few years. Well-drained soil means water will percolate through the soil quickly and not pool.

Colorado soils are generally high in clay, sand and/or rock. Sandy soil drains well, but even clay can work for these plants as long as they aren’t watered too often.

Since the plants on this list are suited for Colorado soil, you are unlikely to need to add amendments.

You can find a wealth of well-researched information on planting in Colorado on the Colorado State University (CSU) Extension website. Here are a few handy links: CSU Extension website, Garden Notes, Xeric soil amendments.

Sections: Ground cover, Herbaceous Perennials

Ground cover, full sun (at least 6 hours of sun per day)
Photograph	Scientific name	Common name	Native to CO	Height	Spread	Blooms	Attracts		Resists		▉	▉	▉	▉	▉	▉	▉	▉
							🦋	🐝	🦌	🐇
	Achillea ageratifolia	Greek yarrow	No	24-36″	10-12″	June – August	🦋											▉
	Achillea tomentosa	woolly yarrow	No	6-8″	8-12″	June – August	🦋						▉
	Anacyclus pyrethrum depressus	Mount Atlas daisy, pellitory, Spanish chamomile	No	4-5″	8-12″	April – May											▉	▉
	Antennaria dioica	pussytoes, mountain everlasting, catsfoot, cudweed	No	2-4″	12-18″	May – June			🦌								▉	▉
	Arabis caucasica	snowcap rockcress, garden arabis, mountain rock cress	No	4-6″	6-8″	April – May			🦌	🐇								▉
	Arenaria montana	mountain sandwort	No	2-4″	10-12″	May – June			🦌									▉
	Artemisia frigida	fringed sage, prairie sagewort, pasture sage	Yes	9-16″	12-16″	August – September			🦌	🐇								▉
	Artemisia schmidtiana	silvermound sage	No	10-12″	12-23″	June	🦋
	Artemisia stelleriana	silver brocade sage, hoary mugwort, dusty miller	No	6-12″	23-29″	Insignificant	🦋						▉
	Aurinia saxatilis	basket-of-gold, goldentuft alyssum, rock madwort	No	6-12″	12-18″	April – May	🦋						▉
	Callirhoe involucrata	purple poppy mallow, winecups	Yes	10-12″	23-29″	June – August	🦋	🐝								▉
	Calylophus serrulatus	sundrops, toothed evening primrose	Yes	6-18″	6-18″	June – September	🦋	🐝					▉
	Cerastium tomentosum	snow-in-summer, tomentose chickweed	No	6-8″	23-29″	May – June			🦌	🐇								▉
	Coreopsis auriculata	dwarf coreopsis, lobed tickseed, mouse ear coreopsis	No	6-10″	8-12″	June-September	🦋						▉
	Delosperma spp. & hybrids	ice plant	No	2-4″	12-23″	May – August	🦋				▉	▉	▉			▉	▉	▉
	Eriogonum umbellatum	sulfur flower, sulfur buckwheat	Yes	6-12″	12-36″	May – July	🦋						▉
	Glandularia bipinnatifida	prairie verbena, Dakota vervain	Yes	10-12″	38-50″	May – September	🦋								▉	▉	▉
	Glandularia canadensis	rose verbena, clump verbena, rose vervain	Yes	6-18″	12-24″	July – September	🦋		🦌	🐇							▉
	Oenothera speciosa	pinkladies, pink evening primrose, showy evening primrose	No	9-12″	12-18″	June – October			🦌
	Penstemon pinifolius	pineleaf penstemon	No	10-12″	12-18″	June – September	🦋				▉	▉
	Potentilla neumanniana	alpine cinquefoil, spring cinquefoil, spotted cinquefoil	No	3-6″	6-12″	May – August			🦌				▉
	Saponaria ocymoides	rock soapwort	No	6-8″	12-23″	May – July			🦌								▉
	Sedum acre	goldmoss sedum	No	2-3″	12-23″	May – June	🦋						▉
	Sedum kamschaticum	kamschatka sedum	No	4-6″	12-18″	July – August	🦋					▉	▉
	Sedum spurium	stonecrop	No	4-6″	12-18″	July – August			🦌	🐇							▉	▉
	Stachys byzantina	lamb’s ear	No	12-18″	12-23″	June – July	🦋									▉	▉
	Tanacetum densum spp. amani	partridge feather	No	6-10″	15″	May – June	🦋						▉
	Thymus praecox	creeping thyme	No	2-4″	12-18″	June – July	🦋								▉		▉
	Veronica liwanensis	Turkish veronica	No	1-2″	18-24″	April-June	🦋	🐝	🦌	🐇					▉
	Zauschneria californica latifolia	hummingbird trumpet, mountain California fuchsia, zauschneria arizonica	No	18-24″	36-48″	May – September			🦌		▉	▉
	Zauschneria garrettii	orange carpet hummingbird trumpet	No	4-6″		July-August			🦌		▉	▉
	Zinnia grandiflora	Rocky Mountain zinnia, paper flower	Yes	4″	15″	August-October	🦋	🐝	🦌	🐇								▉

Herbaceous Perennials, full sun (at least 6 hours of sun per day)
Photograph	Scientific name	Common name	Native	Height	Spread	Blooms	Attracts		Resists		▉	▉	▉	▉	▉	▉	▉	▉
							🦋	🐝	🦌	🐇
	Achillea filipendulina	fernleaf yarrow	No	36-48″	12-36″	June – September	🦋						▉
	Achillea millefolium	common yarrow	Yes	12-24″	12-24″	June – September	🦋	🐝	🦌	🐇	▉	▉	▉				▉	▉
	Achillea ptarmica	pearl yarrow, sneezewort, sneezeweed	No	18-24″	18-24″	June – September	🦋	🐝	🦌	🐇								▉
	Agastache aurantiaca	hyssop, orange hummingbird mint	No	18-30″	18-24″	July – October	🦋	🐝	🦌	🐇		▉	▉
	Agastache cana	hummingbird mint	No	12-36″	12-24″	July – October	🦋		🦌	🐇		▉				▉	▉
	Agastache foeniculum	anise hyssop	Yes	24-36″	18-36″	July – October	🦋	🐝							▉	▉	▉	▉
	Agastache rupestris	sunset hyssop	No	12-36″	12-24″	July – October	🦋	🐝				▉				▉	▉
	Aquilegia caerulea	Colorado columbine, rocky mountain columbine, Colorado blue columbine	Yes	18-24″	12-18″	May – June			🦌	🐇				▉				▉
	Aquilegia chrysantha	golden columbine, yellow columbine, southwestern yellow columbine	Yes	36-48″	12-24″	May – August			🦌	🐇			▉
	Baptisia australis	false indigo	No	36-48″	36-48″	May – July	🦋		🦌	🐇				▉
	Berlandiera lyrata	chocolate flower	Yes	18-24″	18-24″	June – September	🦋	🐝	🦌				▉
	Centaurea montana	mountain bluet, perennial bachelor button	No	18-24″	12-18″	June – July	🦋	🐝							▉			▉
	Centranthus ruber	red valerian, Jupiter’s beard	No	24-36″	24-36″	June – August	🦋		🦌	🐇							▉	▉
	Coreopsis grandiflora	dwarf double coreopsis, large-flowered tickseed	No	12-24″	12-36″	June – August	🦋		🦌	🐇			▉
	Coreopsis lanceolata	lanceleaf coreopsis, lance-leaved coreopsis, lanceleaf tickseed, sand coreopsis	Yes	12-24″	12-18″	June – July	🦋		🦌	🐇			▉
	Coreopsis verticillata	threadleaf coreopsis, fernleaf coreopsis, threadleaf tickseed, whorled tickseed, whorled coreopsis	No	12-36″	18-24″	June – September	🦋		🦌	🐇			▉
	Delphinium barbeyi	subalpine larkspur	Yes	24-60″	12″	June – August	🦋	🐝	🦌	🐇						▉		▉
	Echinacea purpurea	purple coneflower, eastern purple coneflower	No	24-48″	18-24″	June – August	🦋	🐝	🦌	🐇	▉	▉	▉				▉	▉
	Echium amoenum	red feathers	No	12-16″	6-8″	May – June		🐝	🦌	🐇	▉						▉
	Erigeron speciosus	Aspen fleabane, showy fleabane, garden fleabane, horseweed, seaside daisy, showy daisy, showy fleabane	Yes	12-30″	12-24″	June – September	🦋		🦌						▉
	Eryngium planum	sea holly	No	24-36″	12-24″	June – August	🦋	🐝	🦌	🐇				▉				▉
	Eschscholzia californica	California poppy	Yes	6-8″	6-12″	June – September			🦌			▉
	Gaillardia aristata	native blanket flower, common gaillardia, great blanketflower, blanketflower, brown-eyed susan	Yes	24-36″	24-36″	July – September	🦋	🐝	🦌	🐇	▉	▉	▉
	Gaillardia x grandiflora	blanket flower, Indian blanket	Yes	18-24″	10-12″	June – August	🦋		🦌	🐇	▉	▉	▉
	Gaura lindheimeri	whirling butterflies, lindheimer’s beeblossom, white gaura, pink gaura, lindheimer’s clockweed, Indian feather	No	36-60″	12-24″	July – September	🦋	🐝	🦌	🐇							▉	▉
	Gazania linearis	hardy gazania	No	4-6″	6-18″	May – October							▉
	Helianthemum nummularium	sunrose	No	8-12″	36″	May – July					▉	▉	▉				▉	▉
	Hemerocallis spp.	daylily	No	12-48″	12-24″	June – July				🐇	▉	▉	▉			▉	▉	▉
	Iberis sempervirens	candytuft, evergreen candytuft	No	12-18″	12-18″	April – June	🦋	🐝	🦌	🐇								▉
	Iris germanica	iris hybrids, German iris, bearded iris	No	8-30″	12-24″	May – June			🦌	🐇	▉	▉	▉	▉	▉	▉	▉	▉
	Iris missouriensis	Rocky Mountain iris, western blue flag	Yes	12-24″	10-12″	May – June							▉	▉	▉	▉		▉
	Knautia macedonica	knautia, Macedonian scabious, widow flower	No	18-36″	18-24″	June – August	🦋				▉
	Kniphofia caulescens	regal torch lily	No	40″	24-36″	July – September	🦋		🦌	🐇	▉	▉	▉
	Kniphofia uvaria	torch lily, red hot poker	No	24-48″	24-36″	July – September	🦋		🦌	🐇	▉	▉	▉
	Lavandula angustifolia	English lavender, common lavender	No	12-18″	24-30″	May – September	🦋		🦌	🐇					▉	▉		▉
	Liatris spicata	blazing star, gayfeather, prairie feather	No	18-36″	12-24″	July – September	🦋	🐝	🦌	🐇						▉	▉	▉
	Linum lewisii	prairie flax, Lewis flax, wild blue flax	Yes	18-24″	12-24″	May – July			🦌	🐇				▉
	Lychnis coronaria	rose campion	No	18-36″	12-24″	May – July			🦌								▉	▉
	Machaeranthera bigelovii	Bigelow’s tansyaster, sticky aster	Yes	12-36″	12-36″	August – October	🦋	🐝							▉
	Mirabilis multiflora	desert four o’clock	Yes	36″	36″	June – September	🦋	🐝	🦌	🐇							▉
	Nepeta spp.	catmint	No	8-36″	18″	May-October	🦋	🐝	🦌	🐇					▉
	Oenothera macrocarpa ssp. Incana	evening primrose, bigfruit evening primrose, silver leaf primrose	No	4″	16-24″	April-August	🦋		🦌				▉
	Papaver orientale	oriental poppy	No	24-30″	6-24″	May – June	🦋		🦌	🐇	▉	▉					▉	▉
	Penstemon grandiflorus	large beardtongue	No	18-36″	12-24″	May		🐝							▉		▉	▉
	Penstemon linarioides var. coloradoensis	bluemat penstemon, toadflax penstemon	Yes	8-12″	12-16″	May – June		🐝	🦌						▉			▉
	Penstemon rostriflorus	beaked penstemon, bridge penstemon	Yes	12-36″	6-12″	July – September	🦋	🐝			▉
	Penstemon strictus	Rocky mountain penstemon	Yes	24-30″	36″	May – August		🐝		🐇						▉
	Phlox longifolia	longleaf phlox	Yes	4-6″	12-24″	May – June											▉	▉
	Phlox subulata	creeping phlox	No	4-6″	12-24″	May – June		🐝	🦌						▉		▉	▉
	Potentilla nivea	snowy cinquefoil	Yes	12″	12″	June – August		🐝					▉
	Pulsatilla patens	eastern pasqueflower, prairie crocus, American pasqueflower	Yes	4-6″	3-6″	March-June		🐝	🦌	🐇				▉	▉	▉		▉
	Pulsatilla vulgaris	pasque flower	No	6-12″	12″	March – April		🐝	🦌	🐇	▉				▉	▉	▉	▉
	Ratibida columnifera	prairie coneflower, mexican hat, long-headed coneflower	Yes	12-36″	12-18″	June – October	🦋		🦌		▉	▉	▉
	Rudbeckia fulgida	perennial black-eyed Susan, orange coneflower	No	24-36″	12-24″	July – September	🦋		🦌	🐇			▉
	Salvia argentea	silver sage	No	24-36″	12-18″	June – July		🐝	🦌
	Salvia nemorosa	woodland sage, blue sage, wild sage, Balkan clary	No	18-24″	24-36″	June – August	🦋	🐝	🦌	🐇				▉	▉	▉	▉
	Veronica spicata	royal blue veronica	No	16″	16″	June – August	🦋		🦌	🐇				▉		▉
	Viola corsica	Corsican violet	No	6-8″	12″	April-September								▉		▉