Quick answer: 12 native Colorado plants have a recorded bloom range that includes March.
12 species
- Bearberry Arctostaphylos uva-ursi · 34 states
- Blackfoot daisy Melampodium leucanthum · 6 states
- Boxelder Acer negundo · 16 states
- Canada wild rye Elymus canadensis · 37 states
- Eastern cottonwood Populus deltoides · 42 states
- Fremont cottonwood Populus fremontii · 7 states
- Gambel oak Quercus gambelii · 8 states
- Gray alder Alnus incana · 26 states
- Quaking aspen Populus tremuloides · 39 states
- Seep monkeyflower Erythranthe guttata · 15 states
- Winecup Callirhoe involucrata · 16 states
- Winterfat Krascheninnikovia lanata · 12 states
March in a Colorado native garden
March is a quieter month in Colorado: 12 of the state's 100 native plants flower in March, compared with 75 at the June peak. That makes these plants valuable for keeping color, and food for pollinators, going outside the main season.
10 start blooming in March, including Bearberry, Blackfoot daisy and Boxelder.
11 of them grow in full or partial sun and 5 tolerate shade, so there are options for open beds and woodland edges alike. Sizes run from low plants like Seep monkeyflower and Winterfat to trees such as Bearberry and Boxelder. For wildlife, 9 support pollinators, 9 provide food or cover for birds and 7 are caterpillar host plants.
7 of the 12 have a seed or plant listing we verified as the wild species.
Good places to start
Verified wild-species listings that take sun and are widely native, so they are forgiving first plants.
- Eastern cottonwood Populus deltoides · Sun, Part Shade, Shade · blooms Feb-Apr
- Quaking aspen Populus tremuloides · Sun, Part Shade, Shade · blooms Mar-Jun
- Canada wild rye Elymus canadensis · Sun, Part Shade · blooms Mar-Jun