The Best Fire-Retardant Plants Ever
by 21 people |
Ranked #1,472 in How-To, #14,773 overall | Donates to Humane Society of the United States
Help Save Your Home From Fire
Mount Adams Recreation Area Fire
Photographed by Brent Wojahn, The Oregonian
Fire-Retardant Plants
Listed by Common Name
- Arizona Sycamore (Deciduous Tree)
- Autumn Sage (Evergreen Shrub)
- Blue Fescue (Ornamental Grass)
- Blue Oat Grass (Ornamental Grass)
- California Fuchsia (Perennial)
- Century Plant (Succulent)
- Deer Grass (Ornamental Grass)
- Dwarf Coyote Bush (Evergreen Shrub)
- European Olive (Evergreen Tree)
- Fortnight Lily (Evergreen Perennial)
- French Lavender (Evergreen Shrub)
- Hairy Yerba Santa (Shrub)
- Heavenly Bamboo (Evergreen Shrub)
- Ice Plant (Succulent)
- Iris (Rhizome)
- Jade Plant (Succulent)
- Japanese Mock Orange (Evergreen Shrub)
- Kangaroo Paw (Evergreen Perennial)
- Manzanita (Evergreen Shrub)
- Mexican Blue Palm (Palm)
- Mexican Palo Verde, Jerusalem Thorn (Small Tree)
- Mediterranean Saltbush
- Monkey Flower (Perennial)
- Poverty Weed (Perennial)
- Purple Sage (Evergreen Shrub)
- Rockrose (Evergreen Shrub)
- Society Garlic (Perennial)
- Spanish Lavender (Evergreen Shrub)
- Statice or Sea Lavender (Perennial)
- Sweet William (Perennial)
- Toyon, Christmas Berry (Evergreen Shrub or Small Tree)
- Valley Oak (Deciduous Tree)
- Verbena (Perennial)
- Wooly Blue Curls (Evergreen Shrub)
- Yucca, Our Lord's Candle (Evergreen Perennial)
Fire-Retardant Plant Gallery
Kangaroo Paw ~ Jade Plant ~ Heavenly Bamboo
Click on any image to enlarge
Kangaroo Paw
Jade Plant
Heavenly Bamboo
Protect Your Home from Brush Fires
Create a Defensible Space
- Clear away dry grass, brush, and dead leaves within 30 feet from your home.
- Focus on low-growing, fire-retardant ornamental plants in your landscape design.
- Regularly prune all plants to remove dead wood, excess stems, and branches.
- Trees and large shrubs should be placed at least 10 feet apart from each other, and away from your home. Trees should never overhang your roof.
- For trees 18-feet tall or more, prune lower branches 6 feet off the ground to help prevent ground fires from spreading into treetops.
- Firewood and scrap woodpiles should be stacked at least 30 feet from any structures, especially your home. Clear away flammable vegetation located within 10 feet of woodpiles.
- Butane and propane tanks should be kept at least 30 feet from any structures. Clear away flammable vegetation located within 10 feet of butane or propane tanks.
- Water just enough to keep plants healthy. Too much promotes excess plant growth and creates more potential fire fuel, while too little lowers the moisture content and causes plants to burn more readily.
- Most importantly, the 30-foot defensible space must be maintained regularly in order to be effective.
- Note: In extremely hazardous areas, the California Public Resources Code, Section 4291, requires clearance of flammable vegetation for a minimum distance of 30 to 100 feet from structures.
Firescaping Resources
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Introduction to California Chaparral (California Natural History Guides)
Amazon Price: $13.57 (as of 07/02/2009) 
Landscape Plants For Dry Regions: More Than 600 Species From Around The World
Amazon Price: $30.36 (as of 07/02/2009)
Plants And Landscapes For Summer-dry Climates Of The San Francisco Bay Region
Amazon Price: $31.45 (as of 07/02/2009)
Fire, Chaparral, And Survival In Southern California
Amazon Price: $13.57 (as of 07/02/2009)
Firescaping: Creating Fire-resistant Landscapes, Gardens, And Properties In California's Diverse Environments
Amazon Price: $14.21 (as of 07/02/2009)
Fire-Retardant Plant Gallery
Rockrose ~ Verbena ~ French Lavender
Click on any image to enlarge
Rockrose
![Tuberaria guttata [T. variabilis, Helianthemum guttatum], Annual Rockrose, Spotted Rockrose by Jenny Neal](http://static.flickr.com/186/471352207_49739d8ce8_s.jpg)
Verbena
This Lens Supports the Squidoo Fire Aid Challenge
Benefiting the Squidoo Charity Fund
Squidoo Headquarters has earmarked 50% of the funds generated from the Squidoo Charity Fund lens royalties from both the months of October and November 2007 to be donated to aid the fire victims.Megan has already donated of $1,000 from the Squidoo Charity Fund from previous months directly to the Relief Efforts for the fire victims.
© 2007 LensDoc (Kirsti A. Dyer)
Squidoo Fire Aid Challenge
Firefighting Fundamentals
Support the Squidoo Charity Fund
The Heart Behind the Hero
Amazon Price: $23.95 (as of 07/02/2009)
Wildland Firefighting Fundamentals
Amazon Price: $11.95 (as of 07/02/2009)
Fire in Their Eyes: Wildfires and the People Who Fight Them
Amazon Price: $9.35 (as of 07/02/2009)
Wall of Flame: The Heroic Battle to Save Southern California
Amazon Price: $24.95 (as of 07/02/2009)
Firefighter's Handbook on Wildland Firefighting: Strategy, Tactics and Safety
Amazon Price: $57.95 (as of 07/02/2009)
Fire-Retardant Plant Gallery
Manzanita ~ Olive Tree ~ Yucca
Click on any image to enlarge
Manzanita
Olive Tree
Yucca (Our Lord's Candle)
Fire Ecology
Courtesy of Wikipedia
Fire ecology is concerned with the processes linking fire behavior and ecological effect. Campaigns such as ?Smokey Bear? in the USA have molded public opinion to believe that wildfires are always harmful to nature. This view is based on the outdated belief that ecosystems progress toward an equilibrium and that disturbance (such as fire) disrupts the harmony of nature. More recent ecological research has shown, however, that fire is an integral component to the function and biodiversity of many communities, and that the organisms within those communities have adapted to withstand and even exploit it. Fire suppression, in combination with other human-caused environmental changes, has resulted in unforeseen changes to ecosystem dynamics and species composition and has backfired to create some of the largest, most intense wildfires yet. Land managers are faced with tough questions about where it is appropriate to restore a fire regime and how to do it. These questions are crucial today as we see the consequences of years of fire suppression and the continued expansion of people into fire-adapted ecosystems.
Category: Image - :Wildland Fire in Ecosystems 15-1-2.png|thumb|400px|Fire regimes of United States plants. Pre-Columbian fires happened most frequently in tan, yellow, blue, pink, and light green areas.
Stories from the Front Lines
Support the Squidoo Charity Fund
Fire on the Mountain: The True Story of the South Canyon Fire
Amazon Price: (as of 07/02/2009)
Jumping Fire: A Smokejumper's Memoir of Fighting Wildfire
Amazon Price: $11.20 (as of 07/02/2009)
Fire on the Rim: A Firefighter's Season at the Grand Canyon
Amazon Price: $25.00 (as of 07/02/2009)
Smokechasing
Amazon Price: $19.95 (as of 07/02/2009)
Fire and Ashes: On the Front Lines Battling Wildfires
Amazon Price: (as of 07/02/2009)
Fire-Retardant Plant Gallery
Valley Oak ~ Coyote Bush ~ Arizona Sycamore
Click on any image to enlarge
Valley Oak
Coyote Bush
Arizona Sycamore
Fighting Fire... Up Close & Personal
Rescue Me
Support the Squidoo Charity Fund
Rescue Me - The Complete First Season
Amazon Price: $28.99 (as of 07/02/2009)
Rescue Me - The Complete Second Season
Amazon Price: $29.99 (as of 07/02/2009)
Rescue Me - The Complete Third Season
Amazon Price: $29.99 (as of 07/02/2009)
Rescue Me Three Season Pack (The Complete Seasons 1-3)
Amazon Price: (as of 07/02/2009)
Rescue Me
Amazon Price: $14.99 (as of 07/02/2009)
Fire-Retardant Plant Gallery
Purple Sage ~ Statice ~ Society Garlic
Click on any image to enlarge
Purple Sage
Statice
Society Garlic
The California Fires & How You Can Help
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Fire-Retardant Plant Gallery
Iris ~ Sweet William ~ Fortnight Lily
Click on any image to enlarge
Iris
Sweet William
Fortnight Lily
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Ice Plant ~ Century Plant ~ California Fuchsia
Click on any image to enlarge
Ice Plant
Thanks for Visiting...
Did you learn something new about protecting your home?
JaguarJulie wrote...
Kim -- a most interesting lens! With the fires we have had in Florida, as well as other states, this is certainly a consideration for our homes.
Posted May 20, 2009
Demaw wrote...
I once remember reading about some wildfires that consumed most of the homes in a neighborhood except the homes whose owners understood their terrain. The outside of their homes had brick, cement and maybe stucco with no wood trim or ornaments and landscaped with fire retardant plants that were not too close to the houses. The area if I recall was somewhere in California. These homes were spared from this particular fire. The homeowners themselves were surprised.
Posted March 03, 2009
awelldressedbullet wrote...
What a fantastic lens Kim, such an important topic to think about and pay attention to. We dont' live in this type of an area, but the information you provide is definitely useful to those who do, great job (as usual)! - Kathy
Posted November 13, 2008
Michael Edwards wrote
As a retired Firefighter in South Australia, i applaud your site. I am in the process of trying to develop a fact sheet on fire retardant plants for Australia, & a demonstration site of plants. I can be contacted at smokeykoala@yahoo.com
Posted November 12, 2008
AndyPo wrote...
Excellent lens. Very interesting. I had never thought of plants being fire retardant before.
Posted November 11, 2008
Special Recognition
SquidAid Squidoodles are designed by and appear courtesy of© 2007 LensDoc (Kirsti A. Dyer). Some rights reserved.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 License.
This lens supports the Squidoo Fire Aid Challenge.
Courtesies
Wikipedia
Victorville Water
The Isle of Squid
Monrovia Nursery
Las Pilitas Nursery
Castaic Lake Water
Desert-Tropicals.com
Los Angeles Arboretum
H2ouse, Water Saver Home
Brent Wojahn/The Oregonian
Michael L. Charters, Calflora.net
Virginia Tech Department of Forestry
Insurance Information Network of California
Timothy Hof (Eagle Scout) Santa Clarita, California
Kim Giancaterino's Top 10 Squidoo Lenses
RSS Feed Courtesy of SquidUtils
Squid Graphic Courtesy of Janusz
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Plagiarism is No Laughing Matter
© 2009 Kim GiancaterinoThis Squidoo Lens by Kim Giancaterino
is licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
Mona Lisa Simpson © FOX Broadcasting Company
