NOTE: If you are currently at risk of wildfire or in an evacuation alert zone, please see Cal Fire's easy-to-follow list of preparing your home to evacuate by clicking here.
One of the most important tools in a Fire Safe Landscape Plan is clean-up and maintenance. Removing deadwood and dried plant material from the landscape is a great way to cut-out easy kindling for a spreading fire.
The second important tool according to Cal Fire is defensible space. Defensible Space is 5-100' wide buffer around your home that does not contain flammable materials. For homes in high fire-risk areas this means replacing any foundation plantings (that don't contain very fire-resistant succulents) with gravel and potted plants. This is still a learning curve for those of us dedicated to aesthetic considerations in the landscape.
Lawn & Groundcover
Irrigated ground covers and lawns are one of the best fire defense tools there are in landscaping. Pepperdine University has famously used it’s 1/4 mile-wide lawn to withstand Malibu’s many fires without err. Succulent ground covers like Sterile Frogfruit have anecdotally been claimed to have helped save important structures in the Palisades and Malibu areas this January, including the Getty. Please note we are in the process of conducting testing on this plant to verify these claims.
Fire resistant Landscaping Plants
- Yucca - Especially Banana Yucca
- Lily Turf
- Wild Strawberry
- Lomandra
- New Zealand Flax
- Ceanothus - Native
- Succulents & cacti except blue chalksticks & mat forming species
- Redbud Tree
- Sugar Bush & Lemonade Berry
Fire-resistant Garden Flowers
- Yarrow
- Columbine
- Lavender
- Penstemon
- Salvias
- Monkey Flower
- Camellia / Azalea
- Roses
- Lupins
- Jasmine
- Day Lillies
- Coral Bells (esp. Heuchera maxima & sanguinea)
- Wisteria
- Butterfly bush
- Echinacea
- Hosta
Fire-Resistant Hedge Plants
- Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia)
- Pineapple Guava (Acca sellowiana)
- Wax Privet (Ligustrum) - somewhat drought-tolerant
- Fern Pine (Podocarpus)
- Mock Orange - especially drought-tolerant Philadelphia lewesii
- Jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis)
- Smoke bush (Cotinus coggygria)
Cedar and juniper hedges are some of the most flammable plants you can have in a landscape. If they are directly adjacent to your home, be sure to remove any sections within 10-20' of your structure. If any structures or fences on your property are all wood and touching cedar hedging, remove further.
Fire resistant Trees
- Honey Locust (i.e. 'Shademaster') Tree - also wind-tolerant
- California Pepper Tree
- California Live Oaks
- Redwood Trees
- Crepe Myrtle Tree
- Pomegranate Tree
- Pear Trees
- Cherry, apple & other Fruit Trees
- Citrus Trees
- Chinese Pistachio Tree
In general deciduous trees are much more fire resistant and support a healthy balance in urban interface areas with home landscaping. Maples, dogwood, ash and Smoke trees all stand up to the test according to UC ANR. Choosing deciduous tress is especially beneficial for areas with strong fall-winter winds - like Santa Ana winds which exacerbate fire spread - as long as you've raked or composted your fallen leaves in a timely fashion.
What to Avoid: Highly Flammable Plants
- Cedar (incense cedar OK)
- Juniper
- Eucalyptus
- Fan Palms
- Italian Cypress
Flammable Shrubs
- Rosemary
- Feather and Fountain Grass
- Seasonally dry annual grasses
- Sagebrush
OTHER FIRE RISKS: Reduce woodchip usage in areas that are dry or without some shade. In some countries, certain types of wood mulch are now illegal for flammability risk.
Please note California Wild Gardens is not responsible for any adverse effects, harm or property damage resulting from information contained within this article. Home owners and landscape managers are to conduct and verify their own research for any above claims.
