The Front Range spans USDA hardiness zones 5a-6a — a band that supports both cool-season staples and warm-season crops chosen to fit the local frost window.
Colorado's high, dry urban corridor at the foot of the Rockies — intense sun, alkaline soils, and a short season that rewards cold-hardy, drought-wise gardening. On paper, colorado blue spruce, tomato, penstemon, and apple all suit these conditions — on the ground, soil, sun, and drainage make the final call.
The Front Range spans Colorado.
Your yard isn't the whole Front Range.
The Front Range spans USDA zones 5a-6a, but your parcel sits in exactly one — and slope, tree cover, and low spots nudge it further. Enter your address and we'll score 1,112 plants against your land's actual soil, sun, and frost.
We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
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Quick Facts
USDA Zones
5a-6a
States
1
Counties
11
Defined by
Counties
Hardiness Zone Range
What Grows in the Front Range
Plants matched to the Front Range's USDA zones 5a-6a — each links to its full growing profile.
Native Plants Suited to the Front Range
US-native plants (USDA PLANTS, Lower 48) whose hardiness range overlaps the Front Range’s USDA zones 5a-6a. Zone overlap is a starting filter, not a range map — for plants documented native to your county, your state’s Cooperative Extension or a native-plant society is the authority.
Safe to Grow Here?
What the federal record shows across the Front Range — and how to grow with it.
A growing region spans many local records, and contamination is a per-place fact — not a regional verdict. Nationwide we track 1.8M documented sites across 9 federal source types; open the map outlined to the Front Range to see exactly what's on record where you grow.
Sources: EPA, USGS — 1.8M documented sites tracked nationwide across 9 federal source types.
Your Specific Parcel Matters
the Front Range Average
- ●USDA Zones 5a-6a
- ●Generic soil type for the area
- ●State-average frost dates
YOUR Parcel
- ✓Your exact hardiness zone
- ✓Your SSURGO soil type & pH
- ✓Your sun exposure, cast in 3D
See MY Growing Report
Read your parcel in the Front Range
Pull a site-specific report for your exact address in the Front Range — soil, sun, drainage, frost risk, contamination, and scored plant recommendations.
Three things about your exact spot that zone averages miss:
We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
25+ data sources analyzed in seconds
Key Growing Facts for the Front Range
- USDA Hardiness Zones: 5a-6a (USDA PHZM 2023, aggregated across the region)
- States: Colorado
- Counties covered: 11
- Region boundary: a cluster of neighboring counties
Zone data: USDA ARS Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023. Region boundary: curated county clusters and EPA Level III ecoregions. County boundaries: US Census TIGER/Line 2025.
Frequently Asked Questions
What hardiness zone is the Front Range?
The Front Range spans USDA hardiness zones 5a-6a, aggregated from the USDA Agricultural Research Service Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023 across the region's counties. Zones reflect average annual extreme minimum temperatures from 1991–2020 data.
What grows well in the Front Range?
The Front Range's conditions suit plants such as Colorado Blue Spruce, Tomato, Penstemon, Apple, Peach, Lavender. For site-specific recommendations scored against your parcel's soil, drainage, and sun data, run the Growable Ground report for your address.
Which states does the Front Range cover?
The Front Range spans Colorado. Each state's full growing guide is linked below.