Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

Our first reaction was that we don't recommend planting in Summer, but then we discovered that Uintah County, in the northeast corner of Utah is in USDA Hardiness Zone 5a. Vernal is considered one of the coldest areas in Utah, so the best answer to your question is: "Plants native to right where you are."

We would still recommend that you do your planting either right away, in May, or delay until Fall, especially for woody plants, like trees and shrubs. For long summer blooming, annuals that will die after they have seeded would be a good choice, but they may need to be planted earlier next Spring. Many perennials don't bloom until at least the second year after they have been planted, and will die back to the ground in cold weather. Mulching to protect the roots and trimming back the dead stalks to mark where the plant is will help.

To know what will do well where you live, look around and see what is already there out in the woods or fields. It looks like conifers are numerous there, so that's a good place to start. We went to our Recommended Species section, and clicked on Utah on the map.  This gave us a list of 159 plants that are native to Utah, trees, shrubs, succulents, grasses and ferns. By looking at the numbers available in our lists of the various types of plants you (and we) can see what is most prevalent in your area and most likely to succeed there. These lists will, of course, include all of Utah, so you will have to also check and see if plants chosen can take the temperatures in your area, as opposed to lower elevation, more desert-like areas in southern Utah. In the Rocky Mountain states, just determining a hardiness zone, elevations and average temperatures can be a challenge because of the beautiful terrain in which you live.

We suggest, before you select any plants, you contact the Utah University Cooperative Extension Office for Uintah County. They should have plant lists that are suitable to your area.

When we got to the page with 159 plant possibilities, we went to the sidebar at the right-hand side of the page and selected "Trees" under General Appearance. This gave us a list of 26 trees native to Utah, many from the Cypress or Pine families. From those we chose Abies concolor (Balsam fir); by following the link to our webpage on that plant you can learn its projected size, what light requirements it has, what kind of soil it likes and so forth. If that doesn't suit you search on some of the other trees on that list.

In the same manner, we are going to choose an herb (herbaceous blooming plant), shrub and grass. You could also check the lists for ferns, vines and cactus/succulents.

Looking at the 61 possibilities for herbs, we chose Aquilegia flavescens (Yellow mountain columbine).

There were 40 recommended shrubs, and we liked Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (Kinnikinnick).

From 25 grasses, we like Schizachyrium scoparium (Little bluestem).

As you learn to use our database, and observe what is already growing well in your area, you will be able to make choices and learn when and how to plant them in your garden.

From our Native Plant Image Gallery:

Abies concolor

Aquilegia flavescens

Arctostaphylos uva-ursi

Schizachyrium scoparium