Trees that grow well in Utah have to contend with the second driest state in the country, a landscape shaped by an elevation range spanning from roughly 2,180 feet along the Utah-Arizona border to the 13,528-foot summit of Kings Peak in the Uinta Mountains, one of the most dramatic vertical spans found within any single state in the American West.
This extreme elevation gradient means Utah supports an unusually wide range of forest types within a relatively compact geographic area, from the saguaro-free Mojave Desert fringe near St. George in the state’s southwestern corner, often called Utah’s Dixie, up through the red rock canyon country of the Colorado Plateau, and finally into the subalpine spruce-fir forests found atop the Wasatch and Uinta ranges.
Utah is also home to what many researchers consider the largest and among the oldest living organisms on Earth, a single quaking aspen clone in Fishlake National Forest known as Pando, which spans more than 106 acres, consists of an estimated 47,000 individual stems, and shares one continuous underground root system believed to be thousands of years old.
This remarkable organism helped inspire the Utah legislature’s decision in 2014 to designate the quaking aspen as the state’s official tree, replacing the Colorado blue spruce, which had held the title since 1933. This list explores 50 trees, ranging from high-elevation Uinta conifers to red rock canyon natives and the southwestern desert species found only in Utah’s warmest corner, that grow well across the state’s extraordinarily varied terrain.
Quaking Aspen
The quaking aspen, Utah’s official state tree since 2014, is famous throughout the state both for its brilliant golden fall foliage and for forming Pando, a single genetically identical clone covering more than 106 acres within Fishlake National Forest that is widely considered the largest living organism on Earth by mass. This tree typically reaches a mature height of 40 to 60 feet and is known for its distinctive white bark and leaves that flutter dramatically in even light wind, caused by the flattened shape of the leaf stem.
Quaking aspen groves throughout Utah’s mountains often function as a single connected root system, meaning what appears to be a forest of individual trees may actually be one genetically identical organism spanning a considerable area. This tree’s brilliant fall color display draws significant seasonal tourism to Utah’s mountain regions each September and October, particularly throughout the Wasatch, Uinta, and central Utah high country.
Engelmann Spruce
The Engelmann spruce dominates Utah’s higher subalpine forests, typically found between 9,000 and 11,000 feet throughout the Uinta and Wasatch ranges, where it forms dense stands in some of the coldest, snowiest parts of the state. This tree can reach a mature height of 80 to 100 feet and is known for its shallow, wide-spreading root system, an adaptation suited to the thin, rocky soils common at Utah’s higher elevations.
Engelmann spruce is extremely slow growing at higher elevations, sometimes adding less than 6 inches of height per year, but can live for more than 400 years in undisturbed old-growth stands found throughout Utah’s most remote mountain terrain. This tree’s soft, flexible needles distinguish it from the stiffer, sharper needles of the Colorado blue spruce found at somewhat lower elevations throughout the state.
Subalpine Fir
The subalpine fir grows at some of the highest tree-supporting elevations in Utah, typically found between 9,500 and 11,500 feet, where it often takes on a distinctive narrow, spire-like shape adapted to shed heavy snow loads found throughout the Uinta Mountains. This tree usually reaches a mature height of 40 to 80 feet, though specimens near the tree line are frequently much shorter and more wind-stunted.
Subalpine fir is remarkably tolerant of deep, long-lasting snowpack, and its narrow crown reduces the weight of accumulated snow that could otherwise cause branch breakage at Utah’s highest, snowiest elevations. This tree often marks the transition zone into Utah’s alpine tundra, where conditions eventually become too harsh to support any tree growth at all above roughly 11,500 feet.
Douglas Fir
The Douglas fir grows across a wide elevation range in Utah, typically found between 6,000 and 9,500 feet on cooler, north-facing slopes and in sheltered canyon habitats throughout the Wasatch and Uinta ranges. This tree can reach a mature height of 80 to 130 feet and is easily identified by its distinctive cones, which feature small, three-pointed bracts extending outward between the cone scales.
Douglas fir is one of Utah’s most commercially important timber species, valued for its strong, straight-grained wood used extensively in construction throughout the region. This tree’s thick, corky bark provides considerable fire resistance, helping mature specimens survive low-intensity fires that periodically move through Utah’s montane forests.
Blue Spruce
The Colorado blue spruce, Utah’s official state tree from 1933 until 2014, grows naturally along stream banks and moist canyon slopes throughout the state’s mountain regions, typically found at elevations between 6,000 and 10,000 feet. This tree can reach a mature height of 75 to 100 feet and is prized for its striking blue-gray needle coloration, a trait that has also made it one of the most widely planted ornamental conifers throughout Utah’s urban and suburban landscapes.
Blue spruce is remarkably cold hardy, capable of withstanding the harsh winter temperatures found throughout Utah’s mountain valleys and higher elevation communities. This tree’s long tenure as Utah’s official state symbol, spanning more than 80 years before the switch to quaking aspen, reflects its deep historical association with the state’s mountain landscape and early 20th-century conservation identity.
Limber Pine
The limber pine grows in some of the most exposed, rocky sites throughout Utah’s subalpine and alpine transition zones, typically found between 8,500 and 11,500 feet across the Wasatch and Uinta ranges. This tree gets its name from its notably flexible branches, which can bend significantly under heavy snow or wind loads without breaking, an important adaptation for its harsh, high-elevation Utah habitat.
Limber pine typically reaches a mature height of 30 to 50 feet, often growing shorter and more twisted near the upper limits of its elevational range. This tree relies heavily on Clark’s nutcracker, a high-elevation bird species, for seed dispersal, since the bird caches large numbers of limber pine seeds throughout Utah’s mountains that are never retrieved and eventually germinate.
Great Basin Bristlecone Pine
The Great Basin bristlecone pine is among the longest-lived trees on Earth, with individuals found in Utah’s high mountain ranges, particularly in the Wasatch and Deep Creek ranges, estimated to be more than 3,000 years old, and closely related bristlecone populations in neighboring states have been documented at more than 4,800 years old. This tree typically grows very slowly at the harsh, wind-exposed elevations it favors, often above 10,000 feet, sometimes reaching a mature height of only 20 to 40 feet after many centuries of growth.
Bristlecone pine needles can remain on the tree for up to 40 years, an unusually long retention period that helps the tree conserve energy in its extremely short, harsh mountain growing season. This tree’s twisted, weathered wood and gnarled growth form, shaped by decades of exposure to intense wind and cold, make older specimens found throughout Utah’s highest peaks among the most visually striking trees anywhere in the state.
Lodgepole Pine
The lodgepole pine is one of the more widespread conifers in Utah’s montane and subalpine forests, typically found between 8,000 and 10,000 feet throughout the Uinta Mountains, where it often forms dense, uniform stands following wildfire or other major disturbance. This tree usually reaches a mature height of 60 to 80 feet and grows notably straight and narrow, a trait that made it historically valuable for construction and fencing, which is reflected in its common name.
Lodgepole pine produces serotinous cones in many populations, meaning the cones remain sealed with resin until intense fire heat causes them to open and release seed. This tree’s rapid colonization ability after disturbance makes it one of the first conifer species to reestablish in areas affected by fire throughout Utah’s higher mountain forests.
Ponderosa Pine
The ponderosa pine grows throughout Utah’s mid-elevation forests, particularly common across the southern part of the state near Cedar City and Zion National Park, typically thriving between 6,000 and 8,500 feet where it often grows in open, park-like stands. This tree can reach a mature height of 60 to 100 feet and is known for its distinctive orange-brown, puzzle-piece bark texture, often described as having a faint vanilla or butterscotch scent on warm days.
Ponderosa pine is highly adapted to Utah’s periodic wildfires, with thick bark and self-pruning lower branches that reduce the risk of flames reaching the tree’s canopy. This tree’s long taproot system also makes it notably drought tolerant compared to many other large conifers found throughout Utah’s mountain forests.
White Fir
The white fir grows throughout Utah’s mid to higher elevation mountain forests, typically found between 6,500 and 9,500 feet on cooler, moister slopes and canyon habitats across the Wasatch and southern Utah ranges. This tree can reach a mature height of 80 to 100 feet and is easily identified by its long, flattened needles, which tend to curve gently upward along each branch.
White fir is relatively shade tolerant compared to many other Utah conifers, allowing it to regenerate successfully beneath an existing forest canopy rather than requiring open, sunny conditions. This tree’s smooth, silvery-gray bark on younger specimens gradually develops deep furrows and ridges as the tree matures over many decades throughout Utah’s mixed conifer forests.
Gambel Oak
The Gambel oak is the most widespread native oak species found in Utah, typically forming dense thickets across foothill and lower montane elevations between 5,000 and 8,000 feet throughout the Wasatch Front and southern Utah’s canyon country. This tree usually grows to a height of 15 to 30 feet and produces vivid orange and red fall color that stands out prominently against Utah’s evergreen-dominated foothill landscape each autumn.
Gambel oak produces abundant acorns that serve as an important food source for black bears, mule deer, and numerous smaller wildlife species preparing for winter throughout the state. This tree’s ability to resprout vigorously from its root system after fire makes it a highly resilient and persistent species throughout Utah’s foothill woodlands.
Bigtooth Maple
The bigtooth maple is Utah’s primary native maple species, famously responsible for the brilliant red and orange fall color that draws thousands of visitors to canyons like American Fork Canyon and Provo Canyon along the Wasatch Front each September. This tree usually grows to a mature height of 20 to 30 feet and thrives in sheltered mountain canyons throughout central and southern Utah, where reliable moisture supports its growth even in an otherwise arid state.
Bigtooth maple requires more consistent moisture than many Utah natives, generally growing best in canyon bottoms and along drainages where water collects and lingers longer into the dry season. This tree’s spectacular seasonal color has made destinations throughout the Wasatch canyons some of Utah’s most popular fall foliage viewing locations, drawing comparisons to the autumn displays found in New England.
Rocky Mountain Juniper
The Rocky Mountain juniper is a native evergreen tree found throughout Utah’s foothills and lower mountain elevations, typically reaching a mature height of 20 to 30 feet in favorable rocky, well-drained sites. This tree is exceptionally drought tolerant and cold hardy, capable of thriving in some of the harshest, most exposed growing conditions found across the state’s varied terrain.
Rocky Mountain juniper produces small, bluish, berry-like cones that provide an important food source for numerous bird species throughout the winter months. This tree’s tough, adaptable nature has made it a common component of Utah’s pinyon-juniper woodland zone, which covers vast areas of the state’s midelevation terrain.
Utah Juniper
The Utah juniper, for which the state itself provided the species its common name, is one of the most widely distributed trees found throughout Utah, typically reaching a mature height of 15 to 20 feet across the arid, rocky terrain that covers much of the state’s Colorado Plateau and Great Basin regions. This tree is remarkably drought resistant, capable of surviving on less than 12 inches of annual precipitation while still producing a consistent crop of small, bluish cones.
Utah juniper often grows in association with pinyon pine, forming the widespread pinyon-juniper woodland that covers an estimated one-fifth of Utah’s total land area, making it one of the most significant vegetation types found anywhere in the state. This tree’s twisted, gnarled growth form and reddish-brown, shredding bark give older specimens a distinctive, weathered appearance after centuries of exposure to Utah’s harsh high-desert conditions.
Two-Needle Pinyon Pine
The two-needle pinyon pine is a smaller, drought-tolerant conifer found throughout Utah’s lower mountain and mesa terrain, typically growing between 5,000 and 7,500 feet across the state’s Colorado Plateau and southern regions. This tree usually reaches a mature height of only 15 to 35 feet, reflecting its slow growth rate and adaptation to the thin, rocky soils common across much of Utah’s high desert landscape.
Pinyon pine produces edible seeds inside its cones that have long been an important traditional food source for Utah’s Indigenous communities, with a single productive tree capable of producing a substantial seed crop during favorable years. This tree grows in close association with Utah juniper, together forming the pinyon-juniper woodland that defines much of the visual character of Utah’s red rock canyon country.
Chokecherry
The chokecherry is a small native tree found throughout Utah’s foothills and canyon bottoms, typically reaching a mature height of 15 to 25 feet, with clusters of white flowers in spring followed by dark red to purple-black fruit in late summer. This tree is highly adaptable, growing successfully from Utah’s lower valley elevations up through mountain sites approaching 9,000 feet in favorable, sheltered locations.
Chokecherry fruit, while tart and astringent when eaten raw, has long been used for jams, syrups, and traditional foods once properly prepared, including in traditional dishes among Utah’s Indigenous communities. This tree’s dense, thicket-forming growth habit provides valuable cover and nesting habitat for a wide range of Utah bird species throughout the year.
Water Birch
The water birch is a native tree found along Utah’s mountain streams and moist drainages, typically growing between 5,000 and 8,500 feet, where it often forms dense, multi-stemmed thickets near flowing water throughout the state’s canyon and foothill regions. This tree usually reaches a mature height of 20 to 30 feet and is easily identified by its dark, reddish-brown bark, which contrasts with the whiter bark typical of many other birch species.
Water birch produces attractive yellow fall color and small catkins in spring, providing an important early-season food source for various birds throughout Utah’s riparian corridors. This tree’s dense root system helps stabilize the stream banks where it typically grows, an important function throughout Utah’s relatively limited network of perennial mountain streams.
Fremont Cottonwood
The Fremont cottonwood is one of the most iconic trees of Utah’s red rock canyon country, found along desert washes and river corridors throughout Zion, Capitol Reef, and Canyonlands, where its bright green canopy stands in dramatic contrast against the surrounding sandstone cliffs. This tree can reach a mature height of 40 to 80 feet and requires consistent access to water, generally limiting its presence to areas near reliable streams and springs throughout Utah’s otherwise arid canyon landscape.
Fremont cottonwood grows remarkably fast, sometimes exceeding 5 feet of height per year in ideal riparian conditions, and its brilliant golden fall color has become an iconic autumn sight throughout Utah’s national parks. This tree’s presence has historically served as a reliable indicator of water availability for travelers and Indigenous communities moving through Utah’s desert canyon country.
Netleaf Hackberry
The netleaf hackberry is a hardy, drought-tolerant native tree found throughout much of Utah, typically growing to a mature height of 20 to 30 feet with a rounded, dense canopy across the state’s foothill and canyon regions. This tree produces small, sweet berries that ripen in fall and serve as an important food source for numerous bird species throughout Utah.
Netleaf hackberry is highly adaptable, growing successfully from Utah’s lower desert elevations up through oak woodland habitats at higher elevations, giving it one of the broadest elevational ranges of any Utah native tree. This tree’s rough, warty bark texture and distinctive netted leaf veining make it easy to identify even without its fruit present throughout the state’s canyon and foothill terrain.
Desert Willow
The desert willow produces a stunning display of trumpet-shaped, orchid-like flowers throughout the warmer months, making it one of the most ornamentally valued native trees found in southern Utah’s desert washes despite requiring very little water. This tree typically grows to a mature height of 15 to 25 feet and can survive on as little as 10 inches of annual rainfall once its root system is well established throughout the state’s Mojave Desert-influenced southwestern corner.
Desert willow flowers attract hummingbirds and a wide variety of pollinating insects, and the tree can bloom in cycles from spring through fall in years with adequate summer monsoon rainfall. Despite its name, the desert willow is not a true willow species, but its narrow, willow-like leaves and preference for desert wash habitat led to the common name sticking throughout the region.
Velvet Mesquite
The velvet mesquite reaches the northern edge of its range in Utah’s extreme southwestern corner near St. George, an area often called Utah’s Dixie due to its warm, Mojave Desert-influenced climate distinctly different from the rest of the state. This tree typically grows to a mature height of 20 to 30 feet and is distinguished by its fine, feathery foliage and slightly softer, more velvety leaf texture compared to other mesquite species.
Velvet mesquite can survive on minimal rainfall once established, sending taproots down considerable distances in search of groundwater throughout the low desert washes near the Utah-Arizona border. This tree’s presence in Utah represents a genuine ecological outlier, since the vast majority of the state’s terrain is too cold and high in elevation to support this warm-desert species.
Honey Mesquite
The honey mesquite grows in Utah’s warmest, lowest-elevation desert washes, primarily found in the extreme southwestern corner of the state near the Arizona and Nevada borders, typically reaching a mature height of 20 to 30 feet. This tree produces sweet, edible seed pods that were historically an important food source for Indigenous communities throughout the desert Southwest, including in the areas of Utah where the species naturally occurs.
Honey mesquite can survive on less than 10 inches of annual rainfall once established, relying on an extensive taproot system capable of reaching more than 150 feet underground in search of water. This tree’s presence in Utah is limited to a relatively small geographic area, reflecting the narrow band of warm desert climate found only in the state’s southwesternmost corner.
Catclaw Acacia
The catclaw acacia, named for its small, hooked thorns, is found in Utah’s extreme southwestern desert washes and rocky hillsides, typically reaching a mature height of 15 to 20 feet in the small pocket of Mojave Desert terrain found within the state. This tree can survive with virtually no supplemental irrigation once its deep root system is fully established in the low desert conditions found near St. George and the Beaver Dam Wash area.
Catclaw acacia produces small, fragrant, pale yellow flower spikes in late spring, providing an important nectar source for native bees and other desert pollinators in this relatively small but ecologically distinct region of Utah. This tree’s thorny branching structure also makes it a valuable habitat and nesting site for small birds seeking protection from predators in Utah’s warmest desert terrain.
Joshua Tree
The Joshua tree reaches the northeastern edge of its entire natural range within Utah’s extreme southwestern corner, found in a small area near the Beaver Dam Wash and Snow Canyon region, making Utah one of only four states where this iconic Mojave Desert species grows naturally. This slow-growing plant, technically a large yucca rather than a true tree, can live for more than 150 years and typically reaches a mature height of 15 to 40 feet over the course of several centuries.
Joshua trees require well-drained, rocky soil and are highly sensitive to prolonged freezing temperatures, limiting their Utah range to the specific low-elevation desert pocket where the climate remains warm enough to support the species. This plant’s presence in Utah represents one of the state’s more unusual botanical distinctions, since the vast majority of its total range lies farther south and west in California, Nevada, and Arizona.
Singleleaf Ash
The singleleaf ash is a small, drought-tolerant native tree found in scattered populations throughout southern Utah’s canyon country, typically reaching a mature height of 15 to 25 feet and notable for its unusual single, undivided leaf rather than the compound leaves typical of most other ash species. This tree favors rocky canyon slopes and desert wash margins throughout the Colorado Plateau region, tolerating Utah’s intense sun and limited rainfall considerably better than most other native ash species.
Singleleaf ash produces the typical winged seed structure associated with ash trees, though on a notably smaller scale suited to the tree’s compact overall size. This tree’s specialized adaptation to Utah’s red rock desert environment makes it a distinctive, if less commonly recognized, component of the state’s canyon country plant communities.
Boxelder
The boxelder is one of the most widely distributed native trees found throughout Utah, growing from the state’s lower valley elevations up through mountain foothill drainages, typically reaching a mature height of 30 to 50 feet. This tree is a member of the maple family, though its compound leaves look notably different from the classic single-bladed leaves most people associate with maples.
Boxelder grows quickly and tolerates a wide range of soil and moisture conditions, making it one of the more adaptable native trees found across Utah’s diverse landscape, particularly along the state’s stream corridors. This tree is also well known as a preferred host for boxelder bugs, a harmless but sometimes numerous insect commonly seen gathering on the trunk and nearby structures in fall throughout Utah’s residential areas.
Narrowleaf Cottonwood
The narrowleaf cottonwood is a fast-growing native tree found along Utah’s mountain streams and rivers, typically thriving between 5,500 and 8,500 feet where consistent water is available throughout the Wasatch and Uinta ranges. This tree can reach a mature height of 40 to 60 feet and grows considerably faster than many other native Utah trees, often adding several feet of height per year under good moisture conditions.
Narrowleaf cottonwood produces attractive yellow fall color and plays an important ecological role in stabilizing stream banks throughout the state’s mountain riparian corridors. This tree’s narrow, willow-like leaves distinguish it from the broader-leaved Fremont cottonwood found at lower elevations throughout Utah’s desert canyon regions.
Peachleaf Willow
The peachleaf willow is a native tree found along streams and wetland areas throughout Utah’s valleys and lower foothill regions, typically growing to a mature height of 20 to 40 feet. This tree gets its common name from its narrow, pointed leaves, which closely resemble the foliage of a peach tree in both shape and texture.
Peachleaf willow grows quickly and tolerates periodic flooding well, making it a valuable species for stabilizing stream banks and reducing erosion along Utah’s limited network of perennial waterways. This tree’s relatively short lifespan, typically under 70 years, means it is often eventually replaced by longer-lived cottonwood trees within the same riparian habitat over time.
Black Cottonwood
The black cottonwood grows along Utah’s mountain streams and higher elevation riparian corridors, typically reaching a mature height of 60 to 100 feet, making it one of the largest native trees found within the state’s mountain regions. This tree requires consistent access to water and thrives particularly well throughout the canyons of the Wasatch and Uinta ranges, where reliable stream flow supports its substantial size.
Black cottonwood grows rapidly, and its large, resinous buds release a sweet, balsamic fragrance in early spring that many Utah residents associate with the beginning of the growing season in the mountains. This tree’s massive size and rapid growth make it an important component of Utah’s higher elevation riparian forest ecosystems.
Green Ash
The green ash, though not native to Utah, has been widely planted throughout the state’s urban and suburban landscapes, typically reaching a mature height of 40 to 60 feet with a broad, rounded canopy. This tree tolerates Utah’s alkaline soils and dry climate reasonably well when given supplemental irrigation, making it historically one of the more commonly planted shade trees throughout the Wasatch Front.
Green ash populations throughout Utah now face growing concern following the westward spread of the emerald ash borer, an invasive insect that has devastated ash populations throughout much of the eastern and midwestern United States and has been detected moving closer to the Mountain West in recent years. This tree’s uncertain future has prompted many Utah municipalities to begin diversifying new street tree plantings away from ash species as a precautionary measure.
Norway Maple
The Norway maple, though not native to Utah, has been planted throughout the state’s urban areas for its dense, rounded canopy and strong tolerance for a wide range of soil and urban conditions, typically reaching a mature height of 40 to 50 feet. This tree produces dense shade that can make it difficult to grow grass or other plants beneath its canopy, a common consideration for Utah homeowners choosing this species for residential landscapes.
Norway maple tolerates Utah’s alkaline soils reasonably well, though it requires more consistent irrigation than many native or fully drought-adapted tree species found throughout the state. This tree’s yellow fall color, while attractive, is generally considered less vivid than that produced by Utah’s native bigtooth maple found throughout the Wasatch canyons.
Autumn Blaze Maple
The Autumn Blaze maple is one of the most popular ornamental shade trees planted throughout Utah’s Wasatch Front communities, valued for its fast growth and reliably brilliant red-orange fall color, typically reaching a mature height of 40 to 50 feet. This hybrid maple variety was specifically developed to combine the strong points of its silver maple and red maple parentage, resulting in a tree with better structural strength and superior fall color performance.
Autumn Blaze maple grows considerably faster than many other maple varieties, often adding 3 feet of height or more per year under good irrigation throughout Utah’s urban landscapes. This tree does require consistent supplemental watering in Utah’s arid climate, since maples generally are not naturally drought tolerant compared to many of the state’s native desert and foothill species.
Honeylocust
The honeylocust is a hardy tree widely planted throughout Utah’s urban areas, typically reaching a mature height of 40 to 60 feet with an open, airy canopy that allows dappled light to reach the ground below. This tree is highly tolerant of Utah’s alkaline soils, drought, and wide temperature fluctuations, making it one of the more reliable large shade trees for the state’s semi-arid urban environments.
Most landscape honeylocust trees planted today are thornless, seedless cultivars, avoiding the sharp thorns and messy seed pods found on the wild native form. This tree’s fine-textured, compound leaves produce light shade that allows grass and other plants to grow successfully beneath its canopy, a valuable trait in Utah’s residential landscape settings.
Littleleaf Linden
The littleleaf linden is a popular ornamental shade tree widely planted throughout Utah’s urban and suburban landscapes, typically reaching a mature height of 40 to 50 feet with a distinctive pyramidal to oval canopy shape. This tree produces small, fragrant yellow-white flowers in early summer that attract large numbers of bees, making it a valuable addition for supporting pollinator populations in Utah’s developed areas.
Littleleaf linden tolerates Utah’s alkaline soils and urban growing conditions reasonably well, though it benefits from consistent irrigation during the state’s hot, dry summer months. This tree’s dense, uniform growth habit and strong tolerance for pruning have made it a popular formal shade tree choice throughout Salt Lake City and other Wasatch Front communities.
Northern Catalpa
The northern catalpa is a striking ornamental shade tree that performs well throughout Utah’s Wasatch Front, typically reaching a mature height of 40 to 60 feet with large, heart-shaped leaves and showy white flower clusters in early summer. This tree tolerates Utah’s alkaline soils and periodic drought reasonably well once established, though it benefits from occasional deep watering during the hottest, driest parts of summer.
Northern catalpa produces long, bean-like seed pods that can persist on the tree well into winter, adding a distinctive visual element to the bare winter landscape throughout Utah’s urban areas. This tree’s large leaf size and bold, tropical-looking foliage make it a popular choice for adding dramatic textural contrast to Utah residential landscapes.
Kentucky Coffeetree
The Kentucky coffeetree is a hardy, adaptable shade tree increasingly planted throughout Utah’s urban areas, typically reaching a mature height of 50 to 70 feet. This tree tolerates Utah’s alkaline soils, drought, and wide temperature swings with relative ease, making it well suited to the state’s challenging semi-arid urban growing environment.
Kentucky coffeetree features bold, coarse-textured compound leaves and large, leathery seed pods that were historically roasted as a coffee substitute by early settlers, giving the tree its common name. This tree’s strong branch structure and resistance to storm damage have made it an increasingly popular choice for street tree plantings throughout Salt Lake City and other Utah communities looking for climate-resilient shade trees.
Austrian Pine
The Austrian pine is a hardy, adaptable evergreen widely planted throughout Utah for windbreaks and ornamental screening, typically reaching a mature height of 40 to 60 feet. This tree tolerates Utah’s alkaline soils, wind, and periodic drought considerably better than many other non-native pine species commonly available in the nursery trade.
Austrian pine features dense, dark green needles and a broad, pyramidal form that provides substantial year-round privacy screening once the tree reaches maturity throughout Utah’s residential and commercial landscapes. This tree has faced increasing pressure in recent years from diseases such as Dothistroma needle blight, prompting many Utah landscapers to recommend diversifying new plantings with a mix of conifer species.
Chinese Pistache
The Chinese pistache is valued throughout Utah for its outstanding fall color, a relatively distinctive trait among trees that perform well in the state’s hot, dry climate. This tree typically grows to a mature height of 30 to 35 feet and tolerates Utah’s alkaline soils and intense summer heat with minimal difficulty once established.
Chinese pistache displays brilliant orange and red foliage in autumn, providing a striking seasonal contrast to the more subdued color changes typical of many drought-tolerant tree species commonly planted throughout the state. This tree’s moderate water needs and strong tolerance for urban conditions have made it an increasingly popular street and shade tree choice throughout Salt Lake Valley and southern Utah communities.
Ginkgo
The ginkgo is a highly resilient ornamental shade tree planted throughout Utah’s urban areas, typically reaching a mature height of 40 to 50 feet and valued for its unique, fan-shaped leaves that turn a brilliant, uniform gold each fall. This tree is highly tolerant of urban pollution, compacted soil, and Utah’s alkaline soil conditions, making it well suited to street tree plantings throughout the state’s more developed cities.
Ginkgo grows relatively slowly compared to many other large shade trees, often taking 20 years or more to reach substantial landscape size, but rewards patience with a lifespan that can exceed several centuries. This tree is considered a living fossil, with a lineage tracing back more than 200 million years, making it one of the oldest tree species still commonly planted in Utah’s cities today.
Flowering Crabapple
The flowering crabapple is one of the most popular small ornamental trees planted throughout Utah, valued for its dramatic spring flower display in shades of white, pink, or deep red, typically reaching a mature height of 15 to 25 feet. This tree tolerates Utah’s alkaline soils and cold winters well, making it a reliable choice for adding seasonal color to residential landscapes across the state’s various climate zones.
Many crabapple varieties also produce small, colorful fruit that persists into winter, providing an important food source for robins and other birds during the colder months. This tree’s compact size and relatively low water requirements once established have made it one of the most commonly planted ornamental trees throughout Utah’s Wasatch Front neighborhoods.
Norway Spruce
The Norway spruce, though not native to Utah, has become a widely planted ornamental conifer throughout the state, typically reaching a mature height of 50 to 75 feet. This tree grows notably faster than Utah’s native Engelmann and blue spruce, often adding 1 to 2 feet of height per year under favorable conditions, making it a popular choice for quicker screening and windbreak plantings.
Norway spruce features distinctive drooping branchlets, particularly noticeable on more mature specimens, which help distinguish it visually from the stiffer branching pattern of Utah’s native spruce species. This tree tolerates Utah’s cold winters well but benefits from consistent supplemental irrigation, since it is somewhat less drought tolerant than many native alternatives found throughout the state.
Apple Tree
The apple tree has a long agricultural history throughout Utah, most notably preserved within Capitol Reef National Park, where more than 1,900 fruit trees planted by Mormon pioneer settlers beginning in the 1880s are still maintained today in what is now called the Fruita Historic District.
This tree typically reaches a mature height of 15 to 25 feet for standard varieties and benefits from Utah’s significant day-to-night temperature swings, which help develop good fruit sugar content and coloration. Utah’s apple orchards are concentrated significantly throughout Utah County and Box Elder County, where the combination of adequate winter chill hours and irrigated valley soil supports strong fruit production. This tree’s continued presence within a national park represents one of the more unusual and historically significant orchard preservation efforts found anywhere in the National Park System.
Peach Tree
The peach tree grows successfully throughout several of Utah’s warmer valley regions, particularly in Utah’s Dixie near St. George and in parts of Box Elder County, where the combination of warm summers and adequate winter chill hours supports reliable fruit production. This tree typically reaches a mature height of 12 to 20 feet and remains part of the historic orchard plantings preserved within Capitol Reef National Park, alongside apple, apricot, and cherry trees planted by early Mormon settlers.
Peach trees are considerably more vulnerable to Utah’s occasional late spring frosts than apple trees, since their early blossoms can be damaged or destroyed by a single hard freeze at the wrong time in the growing season. This tree’s continued cultivation throughout Utah’s fruit-growing valleys reflects a horticultural tradition dating back well over a century.
Cherry Tree
The cherry tree is grown throughout several of Utah’s fruit-producing regions, most notably around Santaquin and Payson in Utah County, where the annual Payson Golden Onion Days and various regional cherry festivals celebrate the area’s fruit-growing heritage each summer. This tree typically reaches a mature height of 15 to 25 feet and benefits from Utah’s well-drained mountain valley soils and the significant temperature variation between day and night that helps develop good fruit flavor and color.
Cherry trees remain among the fruit species preserved within the historic orchards of Capitol Reef National Park, where visitors can pick fruit in season as part of the park’s ongoing orchard preservation program. This tree’s continued productivity throughout Utah’s valley orchards reflects more than a century of horticultural adaptation to the state’s semi-arid mountain climate.
Apricot Tree
The apricot tree has been cultivated throughout Utah since the earliest Mormon pioneer settlements, remaining one of the signature fruit species preserved within the historic orchards of Capitol Reef National Park alongside apple, peach, and cherry trees. This tree typically reaches a mature height of 15 to 20 feet and tends to bloom earlier in spring than many other fruit trees, making it particularly vulnerable to the late frosts that periodically affect Utah’s valley orchards.
Apricot trees thrive in Utah’s dry climate and well-drained soils, conditions that closely resemble those found in the tree’s native Central Asian range. This tree’s early blooming habit and long history throughout Utah’s pioneer-era orchards have made it a particularly cherished, if sometimes unpredictable, component of the state’s fruit-growing heritage.
Serviceberry
The Utah serviceberry is a versatile small native tree found throughout the state’s foothill and canyon regions, typically reaching a mature height of 10 to 20 feet with clusters of white flowers in early spring followed by small, sweet, blueberry-like fruit in early summer. This tree is highly drought tolerant once established, thriving throughout Utah’s foothill zones where it often grows alongside Gambel oak and bigtooth maple.
Serviceberry fruit is highly attractive to birds and was historically an important food source gathered by Utah’s Indigenous communities, who used the berries both fresh and dried for winter storage. This tree also produces attractive orange to red fall color, adding seasonal interest beyond its notable spring flowers and summer fruit throughout Utah’s foothill landscapes.
Curl-Leaf Mountain Mahogany
The curl-leaf mountain mahogany is a distinctive evergreen native tree found throughout Utah’s drier mountain foothills and rocky ridges, typically reaching a mature height of 15 to 30 feet in the harsh, well-drained sites it favors. This tree is remarkably long-lived, with some specimens found throughout Utah’s mountain ranges estimated to be more than 1,000 years old, reflecting an extremely slow growth rate in the poor, rocky soils it typically occupies.
Curl-leaf mountain mahogany produces distinctive twisted, feathery seed plumes that aid in wind dispersal, a visually striking feature that gives the tree much of its ornamental appeal. This tree’s exceptionally dense, hard wood and drought tolerance have made it an important browse species for mule deer throughout Utah’s foothill and mountain winter range.
Rocky Mountain Maple
The Rocky Mountain maple is a smaller native tree or large shrub found along stream banks and moist canyon slopes throughout Utah’s foothill and montane zones, typically growing between 6,000 and 9,000 feet. This tree usually reaches a mature height of 15 to 25 feet and produces attractive orange and red fall color, a trait shared with Utah’s larger and more famous bigtooth maple.
Rocky Mountain maple tends to grow in a multi-stemmed, shrubby form in more exposed sites, while developing a more tree-like single trunk in sheltered, moist canyon habitat throughout the Wasatch and Uinta ranges. This tree’s tolerance for partial shade makes it a valuable understory species in mixed conifer forests throughout Utah’s mountainous regions.
London Plane Tree
The London plane tree, a hybrid closely related to the American sycamore, is one of the more widely planted large shade trees found throughout Utah’s urban areas, typically reaching a mature height of 60 to 80 feet. This tree tolerates Utah’s varied urban growing conditions well, including compacted soil, alkaline conditions, and reflected heat, all significant considerations throughout the state’s more developed cities.
London plane tree produces distinctive mottled, peeling bark similar to its sycamore relatives, along with large, maple-like leaves that provide substantial cooling shade along city streets. This tree’s strong tolerance for regular pruning has made it a popular choice for formal street tree plantings throughout Salt Lake City and other Wasatch Front communities.
Weeping Willow
The weeping willow grows successfully throughout Utah’s irrigated valley landscapes when planted near a reliable water source, typically reaching a mature height of 30 to 40 feet with its signature cascading, drooping branch structure. This tree requires substantially more water than the vast majority of Utah’s naturally adapted trees, generally limiting its best growth to areas near ponds, irrigation canals, or consistently moist low-lying landscape areas throughout the state’s valleys.
Weeping willow grows extremely quickly, often adding several feet of height per year under good moisture conditions, though this rapid growth is associated with a shorter overall lifespan and more brittle wood. This tree’s aggressive, water-seeking root system also requires careful placement well away from underground utility lines, septic systems, and building foundations throughout Utah’s residential landscapes.