Transcript
[Music]
Oh hi Paula.
Hi Carrie - how are you?
I'm great.
Well, Carrie, I hear you're
interested in developing a more fire
resistant landscape at your place.
Yes with the recent wildfires we've been
having I've been thinking a lot about
the risks that wildfires pose to both
our homes and our properties and so I
know you're a master gardener and think
a lot about planting principles and
and planting characteristics. So I'm really
excited to learn from you today.
Well I know I'm going to learn
some things from you too.
Paula what makes a plant fire resistant?
A fire resistant plant is one that just doesn't
ignite readily and there's several
characteristics that make them that way:
They have an open branching pattern.
They don't accumulate dead or dying material within the plant.
The leaves are moist and supple like this red flowering currant.
So Paula will this arborvate be fire resistant?
No Carrie. Arborvate has
a very tight branching pattern and
characteristically they collect a lot of
dead and dying material in the center of
the plant. Arborvate is not one you want
to plant next to a structure. Not many
evergreens are fire resistant because
they contain resins that are highly
flammable.
Oregon State University Extension service
just published a new fire resistant plant guide
that shows that flowering dogwood is a good
example of a fire resistant tree to
plant. It is it has an open branching
pattern. It doesn't collect dead material
inside the plant and its leaves are wide
moist and supple, so it's a great option
for a fire resistant tree.
You know, Carrie, using fire
resistant plants and non-combustible
materials can help reduce the risk of
fire danger to your structures
like your chicken coop.
Well Paula you know I love my chicken
coop and you know best practices tell us
that right up against the structure we
shouldn't have any combustible material –
not even those fire resistant plants
because if a a plant does start on fire
it can actually start that structure on
fire.
Another consideration to think
about is plant spacing. When you're
planning your plants out, the best
principle along the ground is to just
clump them into small clumps with plenty
of space in between those so that fire
can't jump from plant to plant.
You know the same principles apply for trees.
You want to think about their diameter
and how tall they'll get by the time
that they reach maturity and you want to
plant accordingly with enough space
space horizontally and vertically so
that fire doesn't like climb that ladder
through the canopies to your roof
line.
You know you don't have to spend a
lot of money to create a beautiful fire
resistant landscape.
I love the sound of that. What are my options?
Let's ask for some help.
[Music]
Okay. Hi. Hi there. Do you think you could
help us try to find lowcost options for
fire resistant plants? Sure, right this
way.
Some trees and shrubs are available
as bare root plants, which brings the cost
down quite a bit and makes planting
easy. You can also choose to plant
smaller plants – takes a little more time
for them to get established but they're
well worth the investment.
Do you have any established plants?
Established perennials that you might be able to
work with? I've got Shasta daisies
Yeah Shasta daisies are a great
candidate. Could in the fall through
winter dig them up, split them up and
disperse them throughout your yard.
Can I ask you one more question? Yeah.
So I'm looking for a native species that's both
drought tolerant and fire resistant.
Do you have anything like that?
Yeah sure – right this way.
Okay a lot of native plants, particularly
native perennials, combine both drought
tolerance and good fire resistance, Yarrow
here or Western Columbine are good examples.
Okay thank you so much you've been
incredibly helpful. Thanks let me know if
there's anything else I can do to help. I will
[Music]
It seems that utilizing fire resistant plants
is one way I can reduce
the risk of wildfire affecting the
things I care about most on my property.
It absolutely is – buying fire resistant
plants and then placing them
appropriately in your landscape is a
great strategy.
I've learned so much today thank you
so much for all your knowledge.
I've learned so much from you.
See you. Bye-bye.
Ffor more information about
creating fire resistant landscapes check
out the freely available resources at
extension.org state.edu or contact your
local Extension Office.
[Music]
Make your landscape more fire resistant by choosing and placing fire-resistant plants on your property. Visit a nursery with Paula Lupcho, OSU Master Gardener and Firewise Gardening expert, and Carrie Berger, OSU Extension Fire Program Manager, to know more about:
- Key characteristics of fire-resistant plants.
- Examples of plants that are both drought-tolerant and fire-resistant.
- Best practices for placing fire-resistant plants in your landscape.
Useful Links:
Fire-Resistant Landscaping webinar
Fire-Resistant Plants for Home Landscapes publication
Want to learn more about this topic? Explore more resources from OSU Extension:
Fire, Flowers, shrubs and trees
