Serviceberry
Amelanchier canadensis
Lights up in autumn, white spring lace, for a long late-season show, cold-hardy to zone 3 and white spring lace flowers.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 15–25 ft
- Blooms Apr–May
Colorado · Zones 3–6
Native Plants for Fall Color in Colorado
Native trees, shrubs, and grasses that set the autumn garden alight with red, orange, copper, and gold. Every species here is genuinely native to Colorado and the wider flora of the Mountain West and hardy through zones 3–6 — proven performers for Colorado's semi-arid, cold winters, high sun climate across Southern Rockies & High Plains, not a generic list. Local standouts include Serviceberry and Eastern Redbud. The natives behind New England's famous foliage will do the same work in your yard, and the show lasts far longer than the flowers did. Sugars trapped in the leaves on cool, sunny fall days drive the brightest color, so plant these in full sun for the most intense display. Pair fiery shrubs with the copper and amber of warm-season grasses for a season finale that rivals any flower bed.
The plants
10 native species for Colorado
Each one native to your region and hardy in zones 3–6 · see this collection in other states.
Eastern Redbud
Cercis canadensis
Fall color that lasts — rose-magenta, good through zone 9 and 15–25 ft wide.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 20–30 ft
- Blooms Mar–Apr
Virginia Creeper
Parthenocissus quinquefolia
Sets the autumn garden alight — inconspicuous green — happy in clay, rocky, and loam soil and inconspicuous green flowers.
- Sun to shade
- Dry–average
- 30–50 ft
- Blooms Jun
Ninebark
Physocarpus opulifolius
Lights up in autumn, white to pink, for a long late-season show, spreading 5–10 ft and reaching 5–10 ft.
- Full–part sun
- Dry to wet
- 5–10 ft
- Blooms May–Jun
Fragrant Sumac
Rhus aromatica
Lights up in autumn, yellow catkins, for a long late-season show, yellow catkins flowers and reaching 2–6 ft.
- Full–part sun
- Dry
- 2–6 ft
- Blooms Mar–Apr
Prairie Dropseed
Sporobolus heterolepis
Fall color that lasts — fine emerald to amber, reaching 2–3 ft and hardy in zones 3–8.
- Full sun
- Dry–average
- 2–3 ft
- Fall color
Little Bluestem
Schizachyrium scoparium
Sets the autumn garden alight — blue-green to copper — for sand, clay, rocky, and loam ground and cold-hardy to zone 3.
- Full sun
- Dry–average
- 2–4 ft
- Fall color
Big Bluestem
Andropogon gerardii
Turns bronze-purple seed heads in fall, long after the flowers are gone; hardy in zones 3–9 and reaching 4–7 ft.
- Full sun
- Dry to wet
- 4–7 ft
- Fall color
Indian Grass
Sorghastrum nutans
Fall color that lasts — bronze-gold plumes, good through zone 9 and reaching 4–7 ft.
- Full sun
- Dry–average
- 4–7 ft
- Fall color
Switchgrass
Panicum virgatum
Turns airy pink-gold panicles in fall, long after the flowers are gone; for sand, clay, and loam ground and good through zone 9.
- Full–part sun
- Dry to wet
- 3–6 ft
- Fall color
Sourcing
Where to find these in Colorado
Seeds & live plants on Amazon
Seed packets, plugs, and starter plants for many of these species ship to your door.
Browse on AmazonSome links here are affiliate links — we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. The surest source of locally-adapted stock is a native-plant nursery or a native plant society sale in your area.