Quick answer: 45 native Colorado plants have a recorded bloom range that includes April.
45 species
- Alderleaf mountain mahogany Cercocarpus montanus · 15 states
- American plum Prunus americana · 37 states
- Antelope bitterbrush Purshia tridentata · 12 states
- Arrowleaf balsamroot Balsamorhiza sagittata · 12 states
- Banana yucca Yucca baccata · 8 states
- Bearberry Arctostaphylos uva-ursi · 34 states
- Blackfoot daisy Melampodium leucanthum · 6 states
- Boxelder Acer negundo · 16 states
- Broadleaf cattail Typha latifolia · 39 states
- Buffalograss Bouteloua dactyloides · 19 states
- Canada anemone Anemone canadensis · 29 states
- Canada wild rye Elymus canadensis · 37 states
- Chocolate flower Berlandiera lyrata · 6 states
- Chokecherry Prunus virginiana · 44 states
- Colorado four o'clock Mirabilis multiflora · 7 states
- Common hackberry Celtis occidentalis · 33 states
- Common juniper Juniperus communis · 39 states
- Common yarrow Achillea millefolium · 47 states
- Creeping Oregon grape Mahonia repens · 15 states
- Creeping juniper Juniperus horizontalis · 12 states
- Douglas fir Pseudotsuga menziesii · 12 states
- Eastern cottonwood Populus deltoides · 42 states
- Feathery false Solomon's seal Maianthemum racemosum · 45 states
- Fremont cottonwood Populus fremontii · 7 states
- Gambel oak Quercus gambelii · 8 states
- Gray alder Alnus incana · 26 states
- Green ash Fraxinus pennsylvanica · 43 states
- Greenleaf manzanita Arctostaphylos patula · 9 states
- Indian ricegrass Achnatherum hymenoides · 17 states
- Indigo bush Amorpha fruticosa · 37 states
- Paper birch Betula papyrifera · 28 states
- Prairie Junegrass Koeleria macrantha · 29 states
- Quaking aspen Populus tremuloides · 39 states
- Red baneberry Actaea rubra · 29 states
- Saskatoon serviceberry Amelanchier alnifolia · 14 states
- Scarlet globemallow Sphaeralcea coccinea · 12 states
- Seep monkeyflower Erythranthe guttata · 15 states
- Silver buffaloberry Shepherdia argentea · 17 states
- Spotted beebalm Monarda punctata · 29 states
- Tufted evening primrose Oenothera caespitosa · 15 states
- Upland larkspur Delphinium nuttallianum · 13 states
- Utah serviceberry Amelanchier utahensis · 5 states
- Winecup Callirhoe involucrata · 16 states
- Winterfat Krascheninnikovia lanata · 12 states
- Woolly paperflower Psilostrophe tagetina · 7 states
April in a Colorado native garden
April is a quieter month in Colorado: 45 of the state's 100 native plants flower in April, compared with 75 at the June peak. That makes these plants valuable for keeping color, and food for pollinators, going outside the main season.
30 start blooming in April, including Alderleaf mountain mahogany, American plum and Antelope bitterbrush. 3 finish in April, including Boxelder, Eastern cottonwood and Fremont cottonwood, so this is the last chance to see them in flower.
40 of them grow in full or partial sun and 14 tolerate shade, so there are options for open beds and woodland edges alike. Sizes run from low plants like Arrowleaf balsamroot and Buffalograss to trees such as Alderleaf mountain mahogany and American plum. For wildlife, 29 support pollinators, 24 provide food or cover for birds and 13 are caterpillar host plants.
30 of the 45 have a seed or plant listing we verified as the wild species. Be careful buying Common yarrow: common listings for it are often a bred variety or a different species.
Good places to start
Verified wild-species listings that take sun and are widely native, so they are forgiving first plants.
- Chokecherry Prunus virginiana · Sun, Part Shade, Shade · blooms Apr-Jul
- Green ash Fraxinus pennsylvanica · Sun, Part Shade, Shade · blooms Apr-Jun
- Eastern cottonwood Populus deltoides · Sun, Part Shade, Shade · blooms Feb-Apr