Colorado Gardener

Just when you think it’s going to dry up and turn arid instead of semi-arid, Colorado’s weather surprises. Three days of steady, gentle rain and cooler temperatures in May transformed the dried out, dusty Front Range land here into green pastures.

Q: My trumpet lilies were up and growing beautifully until the freeze a few weeks ago killed them to the ground. What should I do? Will they come back? A: Yes — in most cases your lilies should come back just fine. A hard spring frost often damages the tender above-ground growth, but the underground bulb will survive. The leaves and flower buds turn black, mushy, or collapsed af...

Q: One of my roses doesn’t look like it has in the past. The color and size of the flowers is different and the leaves aren’t the same. What’s going on? Is it the weird winter/spring we’ve had? A: It could be weather stress from our strange Colorado winter and spring, but when a rose suddenly changes flower color, bloom size, and leaf shape all at once, there’s a very common exp...

Q: What vegetables can I plant in June that will give me a harvest yet this summer.

Natives from Left to right: Artemisia frigida (Fringed Sage), Berlandiera lyrata (Chocolate Flower), and the purple Penstemon strictus (Rocky mountain penstemon) Q: I read a lot about planting natives but they are difficult to find and not always that attractive, especially as a small plant in a pot in the nursery. How can I be environmentally responsible and still have a bea...