The average elevation in Chaffee County is about 7,500 feet; high intensity sunlight and generally low humidity, rapid and extreme weather fluctuations and diverse soil conditions all combine to challenge Colorado gardeners. We have the resources to help you be successful. Topics in this section include: Gardening Basics, Diseases, Flowers, Fruits & Vegetables, GardenNotes (Master Gardener Publications),Trees and Shrubs and Yard.
Free summer 2025 classes and experiences:
- Garden & Grow: hands-on learning and volunteer sessions led by our Master Gardener volunteers at the Chaffee County Fairgrounds Demonstration Garden, 10165 CR 120, Salida CO 81201
- Wednesday, July 9, 3:00-4:30pm
- Wednesday, July 16, 3:00-4:30pm
- Wednesday, July 23, 3:00-4:30pm
- Sunday, August 10, 1-3pm, Salida Regional Library Gardening Series: Storing the Harvest – free but must RSVP through the link with the Salida Regional Library!
- Late August or September: Small Acreage Day with Upper Arkansas Conservation District – stay tuned for details!
Hear about upcoming horticulture classes led by Colorado Master Gardeners and CSU Extension staff on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/chaffeecountyextension
Chaffee County Fairgrounds Demonstration Garden, 10165 CR 120, Salida
CSU Master Gardener volunteers plant and maintain this garden in partnership with the Chaffee County Fairgrounds team to showcase plants that do well in our short season, dry climate and as a space to host classes on gardening, seed saving, composting and more. 2025 plants include:
Perennial shrubs: Shrubby cinquefoil (potentilla fruticosa), currants (Ribes rubrum), serviceberries (Amelanchier), catmint (Nepeta mussinii), Russian sage (Salvia yangii)
Perennial flowers: Iris (Iris spp.), Maltese cross (Lychnis chalcedonica)
Annual vegetables: Bronze onions (Allium cepa), Carla Rosa potatoes (Solanum tuberosum)
Annual flowers: Cosmos (Cosmos spp.), marigold (Tagetes spp.), zinnia (Zinnia elegans)
Trees: Colorado blue spruce (Picea pungens), cottonwood (Populus fremontii), Japanese crabapple (Malus floribunda)
Container garden with deer protection by Extension Office: Red, white and blue corn and Colorado River beans from Salida Seed Library, Sweetie cherry tomato, lavender, zucchini, and Emerald Gem melon.
Reseeded space by Extension office: Brady’s Western native mix (slender wheat grass, Snake River wheat grass, thickspike wheatgrass, blue grama, western wheat grass, Indian ricegrass), Asclepias tuberosa, Gaillardia, Fabulous fireworks flower mix from Botanical Interests
Programs
Colorado Master Gardener Program
CSU Extension volunteers trained in horticulture and work out of the local county extension office. Applications open August 1-31! Learn more
Native Plant Master
Want to learn more about the plants that grow in nature? Take a Native Plant Master class and get to know the native plants of Colorado. Learn more
Planttalk™
Reliable, timely information on more than 500 horticultural topics, in English and Spanish. Learn more
Plant Select®
Plants chosen for their beauty, resilience, low maintenance and suitability to the Rocky Mountain region. Learn more
Publications
CSU Extension has many publications for the Colorado gardener. Topics in this section include:
- Gardening Basics
- Diseases
- Flowers
- Fruits & Vegetables
- GardenNotes (Master Gardener Publications)
- Insects
- Native Plants
- PlantTalk ColoradoTM
- Trees and Shrubs
- Yard
Gardening Basics
- Choosing a Soil Amendment (2/13)
- Colorado Mountain Gardening Basics (12/14)
- Container Gardens (8/20)
- Drip Irrigation for Home Gardens (7/14)
- Gardening for Newcomers (3/13)
- Growing Plants From Seed (11/18)
- Hidden Value of Landscapes: Implications for Drought Planning
- Homeowner’s Guide to Alternative Pesticide Management for the Lawn & Garden (7/18)
- Homeowner’s Guide to Fertilizing Your Lawn and Garden (7/18)
- Homeowner’s Guide to Pesticide Use Around the Home & Garden (7/18)
- Home Sprinkler Systems: Operating and Maintaining (5/20)
- How to be Successful at a Farmers’ Market (6/19)
- How to Submit Samples to a CSU Extension Plant Diagnostic Clinic (8/20)
- Landscaping for Energy Conservation (11/18)
- Mulches for Home Grounds (12/20)
- Watering a Home Landscape During Drought (4/13)
- Watering in Fall and Winter (3/13)
- Xeriscaping: Creative Landscaping (3/19)
- Xeriscaping: Retrofit Your Yard (10/20)
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Garden Diseases
- Ascochyta Leaf Blight of Turf (6/12)
- Aspen and Poplar Leaf Spots (12/13)
- Bacterial Wetwood (12/13)
- Cytospora Canker (12/13)
- Environmental Disorders of Woody Plants (8/20)
- Fire Blight (12/14)
- Greenhouse Plant Viruses (TSWV/INSV) (12/14)
- Healthy Roots and Healthy Trees (12/13)
- Honeylocust Diseases (12/13)
- Leaf Scorch (12/14)
- Magnesium Chloride Toxicity in Trees (12/14)
- Mistletoes in Colorado Conifer (12/13)
- Necrotic Ringspot of Kentucky Bluegrass (4/15)
- Nonchemical Disease Control (5/13)
- Pine Wilt Disease (2/14)
- Pinyon Pine Diseases and Insects (12/14)
- Powdery Mildews (5/13)
- Recognizing Tomato Problems (5/13)
- Strawberry Diseases (2/21)
- Sycamore Anthracnose (12/14)
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Flowers
- Creating Pollinator Habitat (1/18)
- Edible Flowers (10/20)
- Fall-Planted Bulbs and Corms (10/09)
- Growing Lavender in Colorado (10/09)
- Growing Penstemons (2/21)
- Herbaceous Perennials (1/20)
- Mountain Flowers (9/13)
- Native Herbaceous Perennials for Colorado Landscapes (4/14)
- Perennial Gardening (1/20)
- Poinsettias (11/09)
- Rock Garden Plants (7/11)
- Roses – Selecting and Planting (9/20)
- Spring-Planted Bulbs, Corms and Roots (10/09)
- Wildflowers in Colorado (12/20)
- Xeriscaping: Perennials and Annual Flowers (2/10)
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Fruits and vegetables
- 2019 Larimer County Master Gardener Tomato Trial
- 2020 Larimer County Tomato Information/Transplant Availability
- Apples and Pears in the Backyard (11/14)
- Cucumbers, Pumpkins, Squash and Melons (11/20)
- Currants, Gooseberries and Jostaberries (1/17)
- Fertilizing Fruit Trees (12/14)
- Fertilizing the Vegetable Garden (5/14)
- Grape Varieties for Cold Areas of Colorado
- Peppers and Eggplant (11/20)
- Pollination of Tree Fruits (10/09)
- Potatoes in the Home Garden (10/18)
- Preparation of Small Spray Quantities of Pesticides (10/20)
- Raspberries for the Home Garden (4/20)
- Saving Seed (9/13)
- Stone Fruits in the Backyard (5/16)
- Storing Vegetable and Flower Seeds (5/20)
- Strawberries for the Home Garden (1/21)
- Training and Pruning Fruit Trees (9/09)
- Vegetable Gardening in the Mountains (12/20)
- Vegetable Gardening – Nitrogen Recommendations (8/20)
- Vegetables – Storing Home-grown (7/15)
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Native Plants
- Native Grasses for Colorado Landscapes (8/12)
- Native Plant Guides
- Native Plant Reference List (8/12)
- Native Plant Vendors (4/12)
- Native Herbaceous Perennials for Colorado Landscapes (4/14)
- Native Trees for Colorado Landscapes (7/08)
- Native Shrubs for Colorado Landscapes (1/18)
Trees & Shrubs
- Columnar and Fastigiate Trees for CO Landscapes (9/20)
- Deciduous Shrubs (12/13)
- Deciduous Trees: Large (10/17)
- Deciduous Trees: Small (9/17)
- Evaluating Tree Fruit Bud & Fruit Damage from Cold (8/10)
- Evergreen Shrubs (12/17)
- Evergreen Trees (10/20)
- Flowering Crabapple Trees (2/08)
- Front Range Tree Recommendation List (3/14)
- Hedges 5/20)
- Lilac/Ash Borer: A Common Wood Borer of Colorado’s Street Trees (5/14)
- Magnesium Chloride Toxicity in Trees (12/14)
- Mountain Areas Trees and Shrubs (4/18)
- Native Shrubs for Colorado Landscapes (7/08)
- Native Trees for Colorado Landscapes (7/08)
- Pollination of Tree Fruits (10/09)
- Protecting Trees During Construction (8/20)
- Training and Pruning Fruit Trees (9/09)
- Xeriscaping: Trees and Shrubs (12/16)
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Yard
- Buffalograss Lawns (10/14)
- Composting Yard Waste (8/20)
- Diagnosing Brown Spots in the Lawn with an Irrigation Audit (7/20)
- Ground Cover Plants (1/18)
- Ground Covers and Rock Garden Plants for Mountain Communities (10/20)
- Home Sprinkler Systems: Backflow Prevention Devices (10/14)
- Home Sprinkler Systems: Operating and Maintaining (5/20)
- Home Sprinkler Systems: Preparing Your Sprinkler System for Winter (10/14)
- Irrigation: Inspecting and Correcting Turf Irrigation System Problems (10/14)
- Lawns: Control of Annual Grassy Weeds (12/14)
- Lawns: Home Lawn Renovation (3/14)
- Lawns: Lawn Care (3/12)
- Lawns: Growing Turf on Salt-Affected Sites (12/13)
- Lawns: Watering Established Lawns (11/14)
- Ornamental Grasses (10/11)
- Sustainable Landscaping (10/11)
- Watering a Home Landscape During Drought (4/13)
- Watering in Fall and Winter (3/13)
- Xeriscaping: Ground Cover Plants (6/20)
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Websites
CSU-affiliated sites
- Blooming Color by Season
- Blueprints and Housing Equipment Plans
- Colorado Master Gardener Program
- Colorado Plant Database
- Colorado Water Center
- CSU Herbarium
- Drought Resources
- Fire Resources
- Flood Resources
- Flower Trial Garden
- Grape Grower’s Guide
- Lawncheck
- Lawn Irrigation Self Audit (LISA)
- Native Plant Master® Program
- Plant Diagnostic Clinic
- Plant Select®
- Planttalk Colorado™
- Poisonous Plants Guide
- Soil, Water and Plant Testing Lab
- Grow and Give Colorado
- Thousand Cankers Disease
- Turfgrass Resources
- Weed Science Information
External sites
Resources
- Online Resources for Gardening and Landscape
Combines the following garden and landscape resources in one page: CSU Hort Blog, PlantTalkTM Colorado, Yard and Garden Fact Sheets, and Master Gardener GardenNotes. - Hort Agents and Specialists Blog
Colorado gardening for everyone! Advice and Observations from your CSU Extension Horticulture Agents and Specialists - CSU Annual Flower Trial Garden
The purpose of the trial program conducted at the Annual Flower Trial Garden is to evaluate the performance of different annual plant cultivars under our unique Rocky Mountain environmental conditions. Click here to see live webcams in the gardens. - Grow and Give Colorado Grow & Give was created to address food insecurity in Colorado by connecting backyard and community gardens to food donation sites across the state. Click here to access resources to help you both ‘Grow’ and ‘Give’ part of your garden’s bounty to those in need.
