FIRESCAPING WITH NATIVE PLANTS

Fire has always been part of the California landscape. Even though record-breaking rainfall brought California’s long-lived drought closer to manageable levels, temperatures will soon spike. By any measure. we’re set up to see a big fire season. In the event of a fire, you can reduce how quickly the fire spreads and increase the survival of your landscape, your home and your family.

In January 2005 a new state law  became effective that extended the defensible space clearance around homes and structures from 30 feet to 100 ft.  So just what is Defensible space?  Simply put it is design and maintenance of landscape that will reduce the chances of structure loss during a fire.  It is broken into two zones, the immediate 30 foot zone and then a 70 foot intermediate zone.  This does not mean the entire removal of all plants within close proximity to a structure.  It has been shown that properties that have eradicated all plants within a 100 foot radius are more susceptible to fire due to the turbulence and wind pattern that an approaching wildfire creates.  Rather it does mean to remove combustible trees such as pines, eucalyptus and Italian cypress lest they are single specimen, well pruned and maintained.  Plant ground covers closest to the structure, or within the  first 30 foot green zone,  then plan a 70-foot reduced fuel zone. Be very limited in plant material. A fire landscape should contain only enough plants to stabilize the site.  The native plants recommended should be low in resin, low in oils, and not produce a lot of leaf litter or dry twigs and branching on the inside of the plants.   There is no such thing as a fire-proof plant, but there are fire-resistant plants, and plants that do not combust when caught on fire.  On the other hand,  leaf litter, annual grasses and weeds will instantaneously combust.    Grass and weed fires can kill you. Think back to your scouting days. If you wanted to start a camp fire, you went out to get dry grass, dry leaves and twigs. Those are now exactly the items you need to keep out of your landscape! When a field is in annual grass and mustard, and the ignition time per plant is almost instantaneous, you’ll get what appears to be area ignition. You can’t outrun something that basically blows up.  However, native brush smolders first and then burns and makes a very hot creeping fire. You can’t be within 100 feet of it and be comfortable but you can usually move to one side or the other. In contrast, if you have weeds in brush, you get a very fast, erratic, spotty, and hot fire.  Many perennial  and evergreen California native plants are highly resistant and tolerant of fire. They recover quickly after a wildfire, making them an excellent choice for a fire-safe landscape.

Plant groundcovers like Coyote bush, Buckwheat  or Island Bush Snapdragons in clumps or groups rather than in a continuous pattern to create breaks between them. Perennial native grasses such as Clustered Field Sedge are a great small scale lawn alternative or planted around or between stepping stone.

Plant small specimen trees or shrubs like Toyan, Redbud, Silk tassel, Buckthorn and Mountain Mahogany  and bushes such as Manzanita, California lilac , California fuchsia and Sage species are best planted and spaced apart (the same distance as  the height of the shrub, do not crowd).  Most of the manzanita (Arctostaphylos)  shrubs are highly fire resistant. The key is to keep a wide distribution between individual plants and to regularly remove the dead material that accumulates on the plant. The California Lilac or Ceanothus species are relatively hard to burn and respond well to light overhead watering once every two weeks. A dust-off every two weeks makes them really hard to burn.  Sages, or plants in the Saliva family are flammable, if you do not keep them clean and wash the foliage off occasionally. Just washing the leaves off every two weeks and keeping them tidy is enough to make them almost fire proof.  California fuchsias are not flammable, but any of their debris is. Mow them down every December or January and you should be fine.

For the outer 70 foot  zone consider deciduous tree species as Big Leaf maple,  California walnut, Velvet ash, White alder,  California buckeye,  and species in the Prunus genus or madrone and oaks.  Oaks are considered to be pretty flammable, but with management are not a problem. Do not run out and cut all your oaks down, but do make sure there are no weeds or upright twiggy dead debris under them.  Prune the limbs up so you can walk under them.

Interspersing hardscape throughout your landscape is highly recommended. Walkways, small walls, and small greenbelts can redirect or slow down an oncoming fire. Decomposed granite walkways are a wonderful addition to a native plant garden.

Good mulch is an important component of California’s gardens, landscapes and ecology.  The moisture that mulch retains helps keep the plant material hydrated and a little less flammable. Mulch (shredded redwood bark sold under the tradename  Gorilla Hair,  or shredded cedar bark) does burn, but creeps along with a smoldering fire that can be kicked or raked out. This type of mulch burns with a lot of smoke and little flame.  Mulch is OK as long as it doesn’t run right up to within about a foot of the house.

The staff at Moosa Creek Nursery  wish you a fire-safe summer.