UC Master Gardener: Fire-Smart Landscaping Tip - November

Plant Spacing in the Defensible Landscape.

A fire-smart gardening tip from UC Marin Master Gardeners. Space trees and shrubs in your garden to minimize the transmission of fire from one plant to another and ultimately your house.

• Space trees so that at maturity their crowns are 10 – 15 feet apart or more, and avoid planting trees in rows or hedges.
• Remove tree branches 6 feet from the ground. If a plant is under a tree, allow extra space. Spacing on slopes increase as grade of slope increases.
• Avoid massing shrubs at the base of trees or adjacent to structures, especially under eaves, overhangs, windows, or decks.

With proper plant spacing, your landscape can be fire-smart, healthy, organized, and beautiful. Questions about creating a fire-smart landscape?  Visit http://marinmg.ucanr.edu/Fire-smart_Landscaping/