Flowering

• Flowering trees and shrubs develop small to large blossoms that lend an ornamental appeal to plants. Boulder raspberry (Rubus deliciosus) is a 5-foot tall small- to medium-sized shrub that thrives in rocky areas, foothills and canyons. This raspberry plant forms large white five-petaled flowers that have a sweet fragrance. Cerro hawthorn (Crataegus erythropoda) is a 20-foot tall shrub to small tree endemic to the southern region of the Rocky Mountains. This thorny reddish-purple fruit-bearing tree flourishes with white flowers consisting of five petals and stamens.
  
  

Nonflowering

• Nonflowering trees and shrubs form no flowers or tiny, inconspicuous blooms that offer no ornamental purpose. Big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) is an evergreen shrub that develops small inconspicuous flowers. This 1-to 16-foot tall highly branched perennial has a short trunk and enjoys dry, rocky soils including valleys, basins and slopes. Subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa) is a non-flowering evergreen tree that forms cones with 1-inch-long needle-like foliage. This medium-sized coniferous tree normally grows to heights of 66 feet, while the subalpine fir rarely exceeds 90 feet.
  
  

Evergreen

• Evergreens are trees and shrubs that grow foliage that stay green year round. Utah juniper (Juniperus osteosperma) is a 30-foot-tall native Utah evergreen tree that forms bluish-green awl-shaped needle-like leaves. This tree likes dry, rocky hillsides and has the ability to live to at least 650 years, according to Utah State University. Curlleaf mountain mahogany (Cercocarpus ledifolius) is an evergreen shrub to small tree that typically grows between 3 to 15 feet in height; however, some species reach up to 35 feet tall. This Utah perennial enjoys dry, rocky hillsides and flowers May through June with clusters of tubular blossoms.
  
  

Deciduous

• Deciduous trees and shrubs have foliage that changes colors in the fall, and the plants lose their leaves in the winter. Grey rabbitbrush (Ericameria nauseosa) is a drought-tolerant deciduous shrub with grayish-green leaves that grows to heights of 1 to 8 feet tall. During the late summer, yellow flowers blossom on the grey rabbitbrush, attracting butterflies. Quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) is a 40-foot-tall deciduous tree with a long, thin trunk and broad, oval dark green leaves. This dry, rocky soil-loving tree is an indigenous plant to Utah.