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Choose Your Plants Wisely
Fire-Smart landscaping uses carefully chosen plants that are strategically planted to resist the spread of fire to your home. These varieties of Fire-Smart plants are often drought tolerant, too. Some "fire-hazardous" plants burn readily, and should be removed or avoided at any cost.
FIRE SMART PLANTS
Fire-Smart plants are the cornerstone of a home's Defensible Space, however all plants will burn if poorly maintained. Choose a fire-smart species, maintain plant health, irrigate, and remove all dead material regularly.
Characteristics of Fire Smart Plants
Fire-Smart landscaping requires careful plant selection, placement, spacing, and maintenance to help resist the spread of fire to your home. Fire-Smart plants are usually easier to maintain, don't contain volatile oils, accumulate less dead woody material, and are more naturally resistant to igniting from flames and embers. These plants are NOT “fireproof” and all require irrigation and frequent maintenance to resist ignition.
FIRE-SMART PLANT CHARACTERISTICS
- Tend to have leaves, not needles.
- Leaves tend to be supple, moist and easily crushed.
- Trees tend to be clean, not bushy, and have little deadwood.
- Shrubs are low-growing (2' or lower) with minimal buildup of dead material.
- Taller shrubs are clean, not bushy or twiggy.
- Sap is water-like and typically does not have a strong odor.
- Most fire-resistant trees are broad-leaf deciduous (lose their leaves), but some thick-leaf evergreens are also fire-resistant.
- Most have lower surface-area to volume ratios.
The good news is, you don’t need a lot of money to make your landscape more fire-resilient. Fire-Smart landscaping can increase property value and conserve water while beautifying your home.
Learn about the history and science behind FIRESafe MARIN's fire-resistant plant recommendations.
Trees
Fire Resistant Trees are often broad-leaf deciduous (lose their leaves) or thick leafed evergreens.
Shrubs
Fire resistant shrubs tend to be low growning, with minimal dead material and supple leaves.
Hedges &Screens
Fire resistant privacy screens are a good choice to replace fire prone plants like bamboo and cypress. FIRE-HAZARDOUS PLANTS
Some plants are particularly susceptible to fire: they may ignite readily and burn intensely, and should be removed or aggressively maintained if present near a home, road, or driveway. You may be required to remove some or all of these species depending on local fire codes if present within 100’ of structures.
FIRE Hazardous PLANT CHARACTERISTICS
It is best to identify fire-prone plants by their characteristics and structure. This is not an exhaustive list, and some plants not listed here may be fire-prone. Any plant in poor health, lacking irrigation, or with a buildup of dry or dead material may burn. Most common fire-prone plants typically share certain characteristics:
- They are often blade-leaf or needle-leaf evergreens.
- They often have stiff, woody, small or fine, lacey leaves.
- Their leaves and wood often contain volatile waxes, fats, terpenes or oils (crushed leaves will have strong odors).
- Their sap is often gummy, resinous and has a strong odor.
- They often contain plentiful fine, twiggy, dry or dead materials.
- They may have pubescent (hair covered) leaves.
- They may have loose or papery bark.
- These plants typically flame (not smolder) when preheated and ignited with a match.
Some Plants Were Made to Burn
Juniper
Juniper is a common landscaping plant in Marin. Deceptively green, it is often planted along patways and driveways, a recipe for disaster when a homeowner finds their escape blocked by a wall of flames. Juniper should be removed within 30' of structures, and 15' of driveways or roadways.Bamboo
Bamboo are fast growing grass species that can make a good privacy screen - as long as you live in outside the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI). Although some species of bamboo can be maintained in a relatively fire resistant state, their rapid moisture loss during periods of hot, dry weather and tendency to accumulate fine, dead leaf litter makes them unsuitable as a screening plant near homes. If you live in or near the WUI, choose fire-resistant screens and hedges instead.
Cypress, Thuja, Arborvitae
These evergreen conifers are valued for their screening properties and low maintenance. Like juniper, they are explosively flammable, and should never be planted in the Marin's Wildland Urban Interface.Italian Cypress
Italian cypress are often planted as an architectural compliment to mediterranean-style homes. These tall, highly combustible trees are sometimes referred to as "Roman candles" by firefighters. With a structure that is difficult to maintain free of dead woodly material and dry needles, they ignite easily. They should be avoided in or near the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI). Watch Italian cypress burning on FIRESafe MARIN's YouTube channel...
