Mesa County, CO Landscaping Rules: Native Plants (2026)

02(A)(1). 02(A)(5)(g), Minimum Plant Size Requirements, states that turf mix, native grasses and wild flower mix are the only vegetation that may be planted as seed; other required trees and shrubs go in as container stock or balled-and-burlapped material. 02(A)(6), Irrigation, goes further: plant selection must emphasize drought-tolerant species and limit the use of high-water-use plants, and every required landscape except a designated dry landscape must include a designed irrigation system. 02(A)(3) backs this with a suitability standard, vegetation must be suited to Mesa County's climate and soils, though the Director can approve any plant shown to tolerate the site's salt, sun and shade conditions.

02(A)(8) separately protects existing native vegetation: significant landscape features, areas of healthy native vegetation, or natural habitats the applicant preserves in place are exempt from the plant coverage and plant type counts that would otherwise apply, an incentive to keep existing native stands rather than clear and replant. These standards govern landscaping installed to satisfy the Code's development requirements; they don't reach a homeowner's private yard outside a new-development landscape plan, and they apply only in unincorporated Mesa County.