This zone is located in western Colorado at altitudes below 7,000 feet and in the San Luis Valley below 8,000 feet.
In southern and western foothills, piñon and juniper woodlands and sagebrush are also native. Ranging from 5,500 to 8,000 feet, the Foothills Life Zone is dominated by dry land shrubs such as Gambel oak and mountain-mahogany. The Plains zone ranges from 3,500 to 5,500 feet and is dominated by native grasslands and streamside cottonwoods. Located in eastern Colorado, it’s where most of the state’s population resides. Here they are in order of increasing elevation. They call these areas the Life Zones of Colorado.
To improve growing success for Colorado landscapers and gardeners, Colorado State University has developed six zones that take diverse growing conditions into account based on the native plants that thrive in those locations. Most of Metro Denver falls in USDA Zones 4-6, but with the wide range of growing conditions facing Coloradans, knowing a climate zone may not be enough information for successful planting. But these zones are based on average minimum winter temperatures and don’t take other factors like precipitation and soil condition into account.
The US Department of Agriculture publishes a list of Plant Hardiness Zones to help gardeners determine which plants are likely to survive in a given geographical location.
