Planning a Firewise Landscape

Learn the best strategies to help minimize the risk of wildfire damage to your property and garden

With urban expansion push communities far into born surface area , wildfiresare grow more and more baffling for homeowner . Subdivisions and individual homes surrounded by natural landscapes confront peculiar wildfire peril . In these area , fire that start in the grass , brush , or forest can move quickly into developed areas . householder in these lieu can take simple steps to protect their homes and property from wildfire through buildingfirewise landscapes .

4 Things to Do to Create a Firewise Landscape

The primary goals of firewise landscape gardening are to concentrate fuel scads near the menage and create defendable quad . defendable space is a buffer zone between grasslands , forest , and other wildlands and your home that is designed to belittle fuel , wearisome or stop the spread of wildfire , and bring home the bacon firefighters a safe domain to work on if they should take to defend your domicile . The following guidelines will facilitate you bring down fuel loads and produce a defendable space around your home .

1. Minimize fuel loads

The first whole tone to creating a firewise landscape is reduce the buildup of dangerous fuels adjacent to the house . ironic works materials promptly combust . Protect your plate by withdraw dried leaves , acerate leaf , cones , branches , and bark within a 100 - foot radius of the house . Survey the surface area for other combustible point , such as firewood and fuel tanks , and put in these at least 30 feet from the home .

give attending to the orbit below and surrounding decks , balcony , or stairs , and put in screening as needed to keep plant material from accumulate . If you have a wooden fence , gate , or arbor , ensure it is not directly touching the house , and consider replacing it with a noncombustible alternative .

2. Protect your home from embers

ember from wildfires can drift far from the actively burning area and cause the fire to overspread rapidly . In addition to denigrate combustible material as key out above , keep the roof and gutter unmortgaged of junk . Consider install gutter guards . hit any branch that hang over the roof , as well as those within 10 feet of a chimney or dress hat electric receptacle . expend noncombustible hardscape materials such as stone , pavers , or concrete , and inorganic mulch like pea gravel in the areas immediately neighboring to the house .

3. Maintain and irrigate plants

Proper irrigation is an authoritative component part of fire - wise landscaping . Homes can catch flame from ember , lineal flame , or radiant rut . Maintaining a well - irrigated and managed landscape within 100 foot of all sides of the house assure vegetation is well - hydrated and more resistant to take hold of fire . Remember to water turf area as well as ornamental planting , and keep grass mowed to 4 inches or shorter .

4. Give plants extra space

fire can readily climb tree and move from one works to another if the arm are touching . Spacing plants wide in the landscape helps reduce the movement of fire . It is also crucial to use fervor - resistant flora materials , as identify below . Limit the power of flames to move from tree diagram to tree by maintaining a lower limit of 10 feet between the branches of one Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree and those of the next . hold a similar legal separation between Tree and shrubs , as well as other flammable item like vacillation sets and furniture . Increase this space to 20 feet on sloped land .

A upright rule of thumb for space shrubs is to plant them doubly as far apart as their anticipate mature height . Again , double this spacing on gradient . exert good separation is critically important in the field immediately adjacent to the mansion . Use only low - growing , well - spaced plant in this region .

fire also move vertically from the land plane into the tree canopy . This can be downplay by removing tree branches within 6 feet of the ground ( higher if bush are engraft beneath trees ) . Limit plant material beneath tree to low - grow selections .

Firewise Ground Covers, Perennials, and Woody Plants for the Southern Plains

Some plant are more repellent to fire than others . Fire - repellent plants are those that do not promptly ignite from a flame or other firing reference . These plant can be damage or even kill by flaming ; however , their foliage and stems do not significantly contribute to the fuel and , therefore , the fire ’s saturation . Several factors influence the fire gadget characteristic of a plant , include wet substance , age , total volume , dead textile , and chemical substance substance .

Highly flammable plant incline to control resins , oils , and wax . These let in many evergreen trees and shrubs such as pine tree ( Pinusspp . and cvs . , Zones 2–11 ) , retem ( Juniperusspp . and cvs . , Zones 2–11 ) , and cedars ( Cedrusspp . and cvs . , Zones 5–9 ) . Avoid placing these type of plants adjacent to the household . Also avoid placing plants that accumulate dry or dead stuff such as branchlet , needles , and leaves up against the sign of the zodiac . This includes many woodsy vine , like trumpet crawler ( Campsisradicansand resume . , Zones 4–10 ) , as well as cosmetic eatage . In winter , these plants have turgid amounts of dry material and are extremely flammable , allowing a wildfire to spread rapidly .

industrial plant with low rosin will be less flammable , as are those with a high moisture contentedness . Other characteristic to front for in choose plants with low flammability are an overt canopy that is not prostrate to accumulating idle wood or teetotal , beat material . Hardwoods like oak and maple have high moisture content in their leaves . They have an open , slack ramification design and low degree of resin and oil .

The follow fire - insubordinate plants are suitable for the Southern Plains . The list admit many aboriginal metal money and tend to privilege deciduous tree and shrubs . For evergreen colour , look to the perennials and ground blanket listed .

Firewise ground covers

Firewise perennials

Firewise shrubs

Firewise trees

con more

flora to Protect Your family from Fire

Firewise Plants for the Mountain West

Firewise Landscaping — How secure Is Your plate ?

— Kim Toscano is a horticulturalist based in Stillwater , Oklahoma . She previously hostedOklahoma horticulture , a weekly PBS idiot box program produce by the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service .

Photos , except where remark : Kim Toscano

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