
Protect Your Home with a Fire-Resistant Landscape: A Guide for Californians
Californians are no strangers to wildfires. In 2023 alone, 7,127 wildfires scorched 324,917 acres, according to the Insurance Information Institute. With such a significant threat, safeguarding your home should be a top priority, starting with a fire-resistant landscape. This means choosing plants with foliage and stems that don’t significantly fuel or intensify fires. Here’s a simple guide to help you get started.
What to Plant
- Native, Drought-Tolerant Plants: Choose succulents and aloes that require minimal watering.
- Fire-Tolerant Trees: Opt for native trees with thick bark, which makes them more fire-resistant.
- Slow-Growing, Hardy Plants: These are easier to maintain and less likely to fuel fires.
- High-Moisture Ground Plants: Select plants that grow close to the ground and have little to no sap or resin.
- Fire-Resistant Shrubs: Consider hedging roses, honeysuckles, currant, cotoneaster, sumac, and shrub apples.
- Less Flammable Trees: Choose hardwood, maple, poplar, and cherry trees.
What Not to Plant
- Invasive Species: Avoid non-native plants that can escape your yard and form continuous fuel beds.
- Plants That Shed Dry Material: Steer clear of eucalyptus and palms.
- Plants with Dead Thatch and Oil: Avoid fountain grasses and juniper.
- Highly Flammable Plants: Refrain from planting Italian cypress, pine, fir, spruce, eucalyptus, junipers, palms, and some ornamental grasses.
Fire-Resistant Plants
While no plant is entirely fireproof, fire-resistant plants have high moisture content, helping to minimize the spread of flames. Here are some options to consider:
Trees: California live oak, native redwood, maple, citrus, cherry, apple, crabapple, honey locust, dogwood, ash, loquat, white alder, hawthorn, quaking aspen, and redbud.
Plants and Shrubs: Aloe, California lilac, Columbia lily, San Diego sunflower, cotoneaster, currant, pineapple guava, flowering quince, Island bush poppy, Pacific wax myrtle, honeysuckle, raspberry, roses, yucca, coreopsis, California fuchsia, and viburnum.
Ground Covers: Woolly yarrow, Ajuga reptans, purple rockrose, creeping thyme, ice plant, wild strawberry, lantana, African daisy, woolly thyme, and star jasmine.
Maintenance is Key
Proper maintenance is essential for ensuring your fire-resistant landscape remains effective. Here are some tips:
- Tree Placement: Plant trees at least 10 feet apart and at least 30 feet from your home or other structures.
- Plant in Small Clusters: Avoid large masses of plants; opt for small clusters instead.
- Prune Regularly: Remove low-hanging branches, dead wood, and thin out foliage to reduce density.
- Remove Debris: Clear dead leaves, pine needles, weeds, and dry grass from your property.
- Eliminate Ladder Fuels: Remove vegetation that can carry fire from the ground to taller plants.
- Mow Grass: Keep grass trimmed to a height of three inches or less.
- Use Fire-Safe Mulches: Substitute compost, rocks, or pebbles for wood-chip or pine-needle mulches.
- Remove Dead or Dying Vegetation: Eliminate any dead or dying trees, shrubs, and ground cover.
- Create Fire-Safe Zones: Use concrete or stone patios, walkways, and walls to create barriers near your home.
While a fire-resistant landscape is not foolproof, it significantly enhances your home’s protection against wildfires. Start preparing today to safeguard your property and peace of mind.