Colorado · 154 profiles · 462 photographs

Xeriscape spreaders

Plants used in dry gardens that may spread beyond their allotted space. This group includes Colorado natives and introduced ornamentals.

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Native volunteers Xeriscape spreaders Invasive & common weeds

Find a plant14 plants

Xeriscape spreaders

14 plants

Big sagebrush

Artemisia tridentata

Valuable native habitat; subspecies and pet evidence need care

Photo: Matt Lavin · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Credits and sources

Blanketflower

Gaillardia aristata

Contact dermatitis possible

Photo: NPS / Jacob W. Frank · Public domain · Credits and sources

Macro view of violet-blue, two-lipped flowers with darker spotting and hairy calyces.

Catmint

Nepeta × faassenii

Spreading clumps; pet evidence gap

Photo: Didier Descouens · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Credits and sources

White flower-head cluster viewed from above, with individual ray and disk florets visible.

Common yarrow

Achillea millefolium

Toxic to pets · Skin irritation

Photo: Petar Milošević · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Credits and sources

Macro view of a domed-to-flat cluster of small golden-yellow flower heads.

Fernleaf yarrow

Achillea filipendulina

Spreads; pet toxicity unresolved

Photo: Yerpo · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Credits and sources

Low basal shoots with compact clusters of finely divided silvery-green leaves among dry vegetation.

Fringed sage

Artemisia frigida

Spreading growth; pet evidence gap

Photo: Matt Lavin from Bozeman, Montana, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Credits and sources

Lamb’s-ear

Stachys byzantina

Can spread; pet evidence gap

Photo: Stefan.lefnaer · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Credits and sources

Close view of slender narrow leaves along a green flax stem.

Lewis blue flax

Linum lewisii

Ingestion and contact concerns

Photo: Walter Siegmund (talk) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Credits and sources

Plains pricklypear

Opuntia polyacantha

Sharp spines around paws, mouths and eyes

Photo: eigenmotion · CC BY 4.0 · Credits and sources

Upright stem with opposite smooth leaves and several pink-red flower clusters on a rocky slope.

Red valerian

Centranthus ruber

Self-seeds beyond garden beds

Photo: Robert Flogaus-Faust · CC BY 4.0 · Credits and sources

Rubber rabbitbrush

Ericameria nauseosa

A native low-water shrub that can spread readily

Photo: Ian Adams · CC BY 4.0 · Credits and sources

Russian sage

Salvia yangii

Spreads by suckers; pet evidence unresolved

Photo: Doronenko · CC BY 2.5 · Credits and sources

Several white flowers with deeply notched petals above gray-green foliage.

Snow-in-summer

Cerastium tomentosum

Spreading habit · Safety gap

Photo: Salicyna · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Credits and sources

Vertical stalk with pendulous cream-colored bell-shaped flowers and unopened buds.

Soapweed yucca

Yucca glauca

Sharp leaves · Toxic to pets

Photo: Alvesgaspar · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Credits and sources

Content revised 2026-09-21 19:48:00Z · Source checks dated separately in the references.

Read with an AI assistant · Markdown and sources

Markdown: https://denson.github.io/colorado-weed-field-guide/xeriscape/index.md
Text fallback: https://denson.github.io/colorado-weed-field-guide/xeriscape/index.md.txt
Start here: https://denson.github.io/colorado-weed-field-guide/start.md
Source ledger: https://denson.github.io/colorado-weed-field-guide/provenance.json