A fire-resistant landscape isn’t necessarily the same thing as a well-maintained yard. This type of landscape uses fire-resistant plants that are strategically planted to resist the spread of fire to your home. Fire-resistant plants are great in California because they are often drought-tolerant, too.

The good news is, you don’t need a lot of money to make your landscape fire-resistant. And you will find that a fire-resistant landscape can increase your property value and conserve water while beautifying your home.

Choose Fire-Resistant Plants and Materials

• Create fire-resistant zones with stone walls, patios, decks and roadways.
• Use rock, mulch, flower beds and gardens as ground cover for bare spaces and as effective firebreaks.
• There are no “fire-proof” plants. Select high-moisture plants that grow close to the ground and have a low sap or resin content.
• Choose fire-retardant plant species that resist ignition such as rockrose, ice plant and aloe.
• Select fire-resistant shrubs such as hedging roses, bush honeysuckles, currant, cotoneaster, sumac and shrub apples.
• Plant hardwood, maple, poplar and cherry trees that are less flammable than pine, fir and other conifers.

Check your local nursery, landscape contractor or county’s UC Cooperative Extension service for advice on fire-resistant plants that are suited for your area.

Click below for a list of desirable plant choices.

Click below for a list of undesirable plant choices.