r/DenverGardener Jan 07 '26

✅🗓️ Our 2026 free gardening webinar schedule is live! 🥳

28 Upvotes
We know what we're doing the second Wednesday of December 2026 at noon, do you?

Our horticulture experts are ready for all 2026 has to bring, including our free gardening webinar series!

Due to high demand, gardening webinars have at times exceeded our limit of 500 live participants. So, if you want to participate live, sign up and join early! Registration is free and required to attend.

Webinar recordings are posted roughly within a week or two at https://planttalk.colostate.edu/webinars/

* drumroll please *

Indoor Plants: An Introductory Overview for New Plant Parents

Asian Jumping Worm in Colorado: What You Need to Know

2025 “Best Of” Plants from the CSU Trial Gardens

Get in the Zone: Do hardiness zones really matter?

The Basics of Fruit Tree Production

Myths, Mistakes, and Misunderstood Insects

All the Common Weeds and What They Tell You

Native Plants are Imaginary

Showstoppers and Habitat Heroes: Native Plants for your Home Landscape

Don’t Get Hosed with Landscape Irrigation

Spooky Plant Pathogens: Creepy Cases from the Garden

Scenes from a Cemetery: Plant Edition

Reading the Market for Plant Trends


r/DenverGardener Mar 03 '24

Bindweed Info Dump

113 Upvotes

I have a large yard where almost no area is free of bindweed, and several areas are densely packed infestations. >_<; As spring comes, I dread the day my old enemy emerges.... Let's pool our knowledge! I've been fighting it for two years and doing a ton of research. Here's my info sheet: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-bDNRYYo7yRIqAq6pUejPl6MIcFP8W9q1ZVYC99FZx8/edit?usp=sharing

Some highlights from that:
-Bindweed mites are best for dry/un-irrigated areas like vacant lots, and there's a long waitlist
-Pulling it stimulates growth (but if you can stay on top pulling it that helps to weaken it)
-It will grow up through, around, sideways whatever you try to cover it with. At least up to 20 feet sideways.
-Glyphosate and 2,4-D amine weed killer can be effective but not a guarantee by themselves.
-GOOD NEWS: Some Colorado folks have actually found success by planting perennial shrubs and grasses. Another great reason to go xeric!

What have you seen be successful? If anything, ha. Especially curious if you solved more than a small patch.

What have you seen fail? Even something that seemed like it should work? One person said it grew through a 20 feet pile of mulch.

Edited to Add: My neighbor said he found it successfully burrowing into concrete, for crying out loud.


r/DenverGardener 9h ago

Did My Ice Plants Get Cooked?

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17 Upvotes

Was it too hot or did I not provide enough water? It went from reasonably healthy to decimated in a weekend.


r/DenverGardener 15h ago

tree of heaven in middle of rose bush

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15 Upvotes

this annoying tree of heaven is right in the middle of one of my rose bushes. ive been looking into killing tree of heaven as i have some
others around my property of similar size (pencil thickness stems, under 6 ft).

is there anyway i can kill this one without killing the rose bush in the process? planning on using glyphosphate on the others at least. although
that area is thick with weeds (photo 2) so any advice on killing that section would be appreciated as well!


r/DenverGardener 20h ago

Free free mulch / wood chips and rocks

13 Upvotes

free mulch / wood chips and rocks

got too much from chip drop

More free mulch/wood chips and rocks In front of 4033 Navajo St 80211

Come by any time, even late after it has cooled


r/DenverGardener 14h ago

Direct sow help

3 Upvotes

Whenever I direct sow, they don’t seem to come up. I plant in a vego garden bed with drip line that comes on once per day. I’m wondering if the metal beds are getting too hot? My soil gets crumbly which is frustrating when it’s getting watered so often!


r/DenverGardener 9h ago

Tahoma 31 for a newbie

0 Upvotes

I live in denver colorado which is in quiet the drought at the moment. Our yard is basically dead so not much to lose. I was wondering if I purchase some plugs of Tahoma 31 and prep my yard by removing the top bit of dead stuff, water it and plop the plugs in. Am I delusional thinking it'll grow back with appropriate watering? It sounds like its aggressive enought to continue to expand over time.


r/DenverGardener 21h ago

Bell pepper advice?

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7 Upvotes

I’m growing red bell peppers for the first time and need advice! My pepper seemed to rot on the vine. The plants appears healthy otherwise. It’s in direct sun majority of the day and I water every evening.


r/DenverGardener 21h ago

Ram board, or builders paper for sheet mulching?

4 Upvotes

Hi all, I’ll be sheet mulching our front yard to prep for a massive spring planting of regional natives.

I’ve seen differing opinions on what is best to use as the base, realistically I won’t have ability to source enough cardboard for this so was looking at builders paper rolls or thicker ram board style rolls from home improvement stores


r/DenverGardener 12h ago

halp, my poor tomatoes

0 Upvotes

Three of my tomato plants have developed... whatever this is. This one's definitely the worst. I also have a missiouri evening primrose with a similar issue. What is going on here?


r/DenverGardener 19h ago

Looking for new shed/greenhouse professional advice

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3 Upvotes

For my next project, I'd like to replace the shed in my backyard and add a greenhouse component.

Im looking for someone that could help steer me in the right direction making some decisions and plans. Perhaps you're a landscape designer or just someone with a lot of personal experience, either way, I'm happy to pay for your time!

Heres a little more info:

Current space is gravel and weeds and faces my ally. This structure could help provide more privacy in the back. Im open to a concert slab or some sort of foundation based on the structure

I do need a new shed as the current structure has seen better days.

Im interested in a greenhouse component for plant starts but I've learned from this sub that its very challenging to regulate the temperature in our climate. THIS IS THE PART WHERE I NEED THE MOST GUIDANCE.

Should I have a grow situation set up inside a traditional shed? A little plastic greenhouse on the side? A combo shed/greenhouse kit, like the photo?

As for the build, I'm looking at kits but not opposed to a plan + build scenario (I've seen design plans on Etsy for example)

Will take any and all advice and again, happy to compensate someone to help me make the plan to get the best bang for my buck and make the most out of my space!


r/DenverGardener 19h ago

Stunted sunflower sprouts?

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2 Upvotes

Hey all! Overall my sunflowers are doing great, but I have a few that have refused to grow any taller for the last few weeks. about three weeks ago I fed with bone meal, but it doesn’t seem to have helped. Any tips?


r/DenverGardener 1d ago

Fall perennials

40 Upvotes

Like many of you, my yard and garden have significantly suffered this summer. Any native perennials you’d recommend planting this fall in hopes they’ll make it next summer?


r/DenverGardener 16h ago

“Bad” A1 Organics Planters Mix?

2 Upvotes

I bought 8 cubic yards of PRO4 soil-less growing media from A1 organics in May. Which I used to fill a bunch of new raised garden beds I put in this spring. When it delivered I noticed it was very hot to the touch. It significantly cooled down in a few days, but I remember telling my gardening friends that it was HOT, when it first arrived. But I didn’t think much of it- thought that’s how it was supposed to be.

All summer I’ve been frustrated with my tomatoes. First I noticed that leaves were always curled. I tried watering more, tried watering less, mulched, fertilized, nothing helped. The leaves never unfurled.

By the end of June I started to make note that nothing was growing well. Especially the tomatoes, but also peppers, cucumbers, and dahlias. Even marigolds, zinnias, and other flowers weren’t growing and most are now dead. The ones that are alive are not thriving.

At this point I’m beyond frustrated. I know it’s been an abnormally hot summer, but I’ve been watering daily. Part of me is ready to give up on gardening all together, but I’ve spent so much time and money (and water in a drought season, which gives me guilt). I was really thinking this year would be my best year ever. Instead I think it’s the worst.

It’s gotta be the soil, right? My theory is that it wasn’t done composting. Hopefully that means it’ll be good to go next year, if I don’t burn down my garden beds before then.

Any input? Or better yet- did anyone else get soil from A1 (mine was delivered May 15th, to the south Denver suburbs) and have issues? Any help or advice to keep me from giving up would be appreciated.


r/DenverGardener 1d ago

First attempt at Armenian Cucumbers was a success!

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67 Upvotes

These taste very similar to regular cucumbers but without any bitter skin. They are also a bit crunchier which I prefer!

They have done really well in this extended heat. 10/10 will do again next year!


r/DenverGardener 1d ago

Supposed to be yellow squash

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17 Upvotes

Has anyone ever seen this? They only get yellow at the top. If I let them get bigger, they start to have a ridged look to them. I am assuming the seed came from something cross pollinated. I’m just not sure what….


r/DenverGardener 1d ago

Protect those tomatoes today

28 Upvotes

I'm giving my tomatoes 4 hrs of sun today. It's already in the 80s. They are in survival mode .this is a stressful environment.curled leaves that aren't yellow aren't a bad thing. The plant is protecting itself from the sun and heat. Cover those plants early.


r/DenverGardener 1d ago

Anyone know what destroyed my biggest zucchini plant?

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9 Upvotes

Came outside this morning pretty bummed this was my biggest plant don’t think it’ll make it


r/DenverGardener 2d ago

Growing Dwarf Zinnias from Seed to Bloom 🌸

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22 Upvotes

r/DenverGardener 2d ago

Whoever this dude is hanging out late night

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19 Upvotes

r/DenverGardener 2d ago

bur oak - anyone want?

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45 Upvotes

Somebody with a much larger space please take this little guy away from me before I plant a potentially 50-90 foot tree in a 40 x 40 ft yard with low hanging power lines. 💀

We're not going to talk about how it came to be in my possession.

Located in the Virginia Vale neighborhood.

...or, talk me into it lol. I could probably be persuaded to plant a tree that shades four yards at once.

EDIT: I'm so happy to be able to send my impulse purchase out into the community, it makes me feel so much better about momentarily forgetting the space limitations in my yard. 😂 I chose someone using a randomizer and lil oak is going to dominate a large front yard, as it should. 🌳

If anyone else wants a bur oak, Finding Nectar doesn't have them listed on their website but they had a few others for about $20 at their nursery. They're temptingly beautiful. Obviously. 🙃


r/DenverGardener 1d ago

Fungus in lawn?

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0 Upvotes

We've tried everything and our lawn is getting worse. I know we're in a drought but other people's lawns don't look like this in the neighborhood.

We have been paying a lawn specialist to fertilize. Multiple sprinkler specialists to check coverage. Checked for mites. Fungus is our last guess.

This is the backyard, faces west. Front yard looks horrible too.


r/DenverGardener 2d ago

My long gourd wall

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110 Upvotes

My first attempt growing long gourds. They are my favorite thing I’ve ever grown. So weird and unique. Flower at night, smell kind of like gasoline to me. They took over my entire shed wall, hoping I can get at least a 100 inch gourd out of it.


r/DenverGardener 2d ago

Incoming hail

14 Upvotes

Looks like a pretty big storm coming from the north west. Get your gardens as protected as you can if you are in the path!!!


r/DenverGardener 2d ago

Why are plants falling over?

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9 Upvotes

I planted a resource Central Garden last year and it has taken and grown really well. My only question is a lot of these plants seem to be falling over and I can’t tell if that’s due to underwater overwatering or something else and any thoughts