Planting Services Castle Rock, CO

Name: HLE Landscaping & Concrete, Landscaping Services
Address: 6617 S Catawba Way, Aurora, CO, 80016, USA
Telephone: (720) 634-6540
Price range: $$$

What We Plant in Castle Rock Yards

Planting looks simple until a new tree ends up too deep, dries out in its first summer, or outgrows the corner it was given. Under owner Brandon Gallegos, our crew takes care of the whole sequence: picking plants that suit the site, getting them in the ground correctly, and showing you how to water and mulch them afterward. It’s the same approach behind our tree planting services.

Castle Rock homeowners usually call us for:

Shade and ornamental trees placed well clear of the foundation
Shrub rows and hedges that screen a fence line or patio
Flower beds framing a front walk, porch, or mailbox
Raised or in-ground beds for vegetables and herbs
New beds where a thirsty lawn has been taken out

(720) 634-6540

Picking Plants That Survive a Zone 5b Winter

A plant that belongs in a Castle Rock yard is rated for USDA zone 5b or colder, sized for the space it will fill when mature, and matched to the sun and water its spot receives. Get those three right and most care problems never start.

The zone rating is only a starting point, because conditions shift even within one lot. A bed against a south-facing wall heats up, the north side of the house stays shaded and holds snow longer, and a low corner can collect cold air. Soil changes as well: NRCS survey data covering the town include clay-heavy subsoils in some spots and gravelly or sandy loams in others, so we look at the ground in your yard before settling on a plant list.

Spacing matters for another reason here. Where the Town’s 2026 landscape criteria apply, a ColoradoScape front yard has to reach 75% plant coverage once everything matures, so we lay beds out by full-grown size rather than nursery-pot size. Our article on low-water xeriscape design covers the thinking behind that style.

info@hlelandscaping.com

Local Records Behind Every Castle Rock Plant List

Five public records shape how we plan plantings in Castle Rock. Each links to the agency or program that published it.

Hardiness zone 5b, with pockets that differ
On the USDA’s 2023 hardiness map, most of ZIP codes 80104 and 80109 fall in zone 5b, the band for -15 to -10°F, which is where they sat on the 2012 map too. Microclimates vary, so a walled courtyard and an exposed corner lot on the same street may not behave alike.
Source: USDA ARS — 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP code data
Roughly 143 days between freezes
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the Castle Rock station, about 6,185 feet up, give the town a growing season of roughly 143 days. The last 32°F night of spring has a median date of May 9 and the first one of fall a median of Oct. 2; at Denver’s Stapleton station the spring date is closer to May 4.
Source: NOAA NCEI — U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020
Emerald ash borer has reached Douglas County
According to the Town, emerald ash borer, which kills every true North American ash, was confirmed in Parker as of July 2026 and has also been found in Littleton, Greenwood Village, and Centennial. It had not been discovered in Castle Rock at that update, but the Town regards ash trees inside a 10–15 mile radius of a confirmed infestation as likely at risk.
Source: Town of Castle Rock — Emerald Ash Borer
No wood mulch beside the house
The Town’s 2026 Landscape and Irrigation Criteria reach every new landscape, plus any makeover that reworks one-fourth or more of a water tap’s landscaping or spans 10,000 square feet. Within that scope, the 5-foot band around a structure is Defensible Space Zone 1: wood and other organic mulch can’t be used in it, and the band gets rock, gravel, or cobble spread at least 2 inches deep.
Source: Town of Castle Rock — Landscape and Irrigation Criteria Manual (2026)
The turf rebate wants plants in the design
Castle Rock Water’s residential ColoradoScape Renovation rebate pays $3.25 per square foot in 2026 to replace healthy, high-water turf with ColoradoScape, from a 400-square-foot minimum (or a whole front yard) up to 1,500 square feet. Patio or deck space in the project can earn $1.00 a square foot, but only if the plan has plants in it too. Artificial turf doesn’t count, and the application and site visit have to happen before work starts.
Source: Castle Rock Water — Rebates

Planting Day: Depth, Backfill, and the First Soak

A lot of planting trouble starts at the hole. We dig it wider than the root ball but no deeper, set the top of the roots at or a little above the surrounding grade, tease apart roots that have circled the pot, and backfill with the soil that came out so water moves evenly from the hole into the yard around it. Each plant then gets a slow, deep soak to settle the soil around its roots.

New plants need more water than established ones, and the Town’s rules leave room for that. Watering by hand with a hose is allowed on any day as long as none of it goes to waste, and during the May 1 to Sept. 30 restriction season a Temporary Irrigation Exemption can permit daily watering of seed or new plants for up to 30 days. It isn’t granted for July, and the usual watering hours and water budgets still apply.

Would you rather skip the hose? Drip lines can be planned alongside the plantings with our irrigation services in Castle Rock.

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Flower Beds, Hedges, and Kitchen Gardens

Beds and borders give a yard its color and structure. We arrange flower beds by bloom season and mature height, plant hedges at a spacing that fills in without crowding, and put vegetable and herb beds close enough to the kitchen door that they get picked.

Living under an HOA doesn’t rule these out. For detached single-family homes, Colorado law (SB23-178) stops an association from banning vegetable gardens in front, back, or side yards, or from denying an option of at least 80% drought-tolerant plants, although it can still adopt design rules. For beds that return every spring, read our piece on perennial gardening.

Steep Banks, Wall Terraces, and Fresh Sod Edges

When a Castle Rock yard includes a steep bank, grading comes before planting, since the Town’s criteria cap landscaped grades at 3:1 wherever those rules reach. Terracing the hill with retaining walls creates level beds that hold mulch and water instead of shedding them downhill.

Beds and lawn tend to go in together, so we set bed edges, finished grades, and mulch lines before new sod is rolled out beside them. That keeps soil and rock off the fresh grass and leaves a clean line to mow along.

(720) 634-6540

From Yard Walk to First Watering in Castle Rock

Free consultation
We walk the yard with you, note sun, soil, and grade, and talk about what the plantings should do.
Plant list and layout
A plan showing what goes where, spaced for mature size, with a quote that spells out the work.
Utility marks
Buried lines are located through Colorado 811 before any hole is dug.
Into the ground
Holes dug to the right depth, plants set and backfilled, then watered in.
Aftercare talk
Watering and mulching instructions for the months after planting.

Care Advice That Comes With Every Planting

How a planting does depends on the weeks after we leave, so we explain how often to water, how to check moisture around the root ball, and where wood mulch can and can’t go under the Town’s rules. You’ll also hear which plants will need extra attention through their first summer.

Planting is one part of our local work; the Castle Rock service overview lists everything else, from concrete to irrigation.

(720) 634-6540 info@hlelandscaping.com

Castle Rock Planting Questions: Frost, Mulch, Ash, and Rebates

How long is the growing season in Castle Rock?

About 143 days, based on NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the Castle Rock station. The median date of the last spring freeze there is May 9 and of the first fall freeze Oct. 2, which means roughly half of springs still bring a 32°F night after May 9. Tender flowers and vegetables are safest planted with that date in mind.

Can I put wood mulch right up against my house in Castle Rock?

Not if the yard falls under the Town’s 2026 criteria. They reach brand-new yards and any makeover reworking one-fourth or more of a tap’s landscaping, and they keep bark and other organic mulch out of the five feet closest to a structure. That strip needs stone instead, such as rock, gravel, or cobble, laid 2 or more inches deep.

Should I still plant an ash tree in Castle Rock?

It’s a risky choice right now. The Town’s emerald ash borer page reports the insect, which kills all true North American ash trees, confirmed in Parker as of July 2026, and counts ash trees 10–15 miles or less from a confirmed infestation as likely at risk. It hadn’t been found in Castle Rock at that update, but a new ash would still be planted into that threat.

Does Castle Rock Water's rebate cover new planting beds?

It can, when the beds replace lawn. The ColoradoScape Renovation rebate pays for swapping healthy, high-water turf for ColoradoScape landscaping, and hardscape inside the project only earns its lower per-foot rate when the design includes plants. Artificial turf is excluded, and you need to apply and finish the site visit before any work begins, so bring the program’s requirements to your consultation.

Does hand-digging a planting hole still require an 811 call?

Yes. Colorado 811 says the notice rule applies at any depth, hand digging included, and state law sets the minimum at two business days before work begins, with the day you call left out of the count. Utility owners then have two business days to mark their lines, and planting day is scheduled around those marks.

Ready to add trees, shrubs, or new beds in Castle Rock? Send us a message or call (720) 634-6540 to book a free planting consultation.