Colorado grows the nation's best lawns, top-quality cut flowers and excellent vegetables. Gardeners who are patient, know how to select plants that will do well, and manipulate the soil and microclimate, will be amply rewarded. Gardening in Colorado can be challenging. The average elevation of the state is 6,800 feet. Three-fourths of the nation's land above 10,000 feet is within its borders.
Sunlight is frequently of high intensity and the humidity generally is low.
These features, along with rapid and extreme weather changes and frequently poor soil conditions, make for challenges in growing plants. Newcomer's Dilemma Newcomers to Colorado often have trouble getting plants to thrive or even survive. Often, those from northern states such as Minnesota or Michigan are puzzled why certain trees that did well for them there do poorly in Colorado. Temperature is not the only factor that determines plant survival in Colorado, for rarely is extreme cold the limiting plant growth factor. Combinations of low humidity, drying winds and physical properties of the soil influence how well plants perform here.