Make Your Garden Firewise

One of the benefits of living in the greater Flagstaff area is being surrounded by gorgeous forests. Acre upon acre of ponderosa pines and aspens provides us with rich scenery, phenomenal hiking and biking, and an extraordinary opportunity to be close to nature.

There is a downside to this arboreal splendor, however, and it comes in the form of wildfires.

Our forests are densely packed, there have been historic droughts and every year, temperatures have been rising. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, we just experienced the warmest June on record. Flagstaff had its hottest June ever, breaking a record that had been set back in 1974.

All of this means that wildfires are likely in our community’s future, which is why Firewise gardening and creating a landscape that helps protect a home in the case of a wildfire is a concern for many homeowners.

It might seem odd to talk about the threat of wildfire while we are in the middle of monsoon season, but your efforts to make your home and garden safe are a year-round effort, and now is a perfect time to start

The key to Firewise landscaping is making sure you have a “defensible” or “survivable” space around your home. “Defensible space” is a phrase coined in the 1980s to describe practices that would reduce wildfire threat to homes and provide a space where firefighters could battle the blaze to protect structures. 

However, with more wildfires, there are often fewer firefighters available to defend every home. So, a new standard, “survivable space,” was created to describe practices that make home ignition caused by wildfire less likely, even without direct firefighter intervention.

This means thoughtfully planning out your landscaping to put more fire-resistant plants near your home and more flammable vegetation further away, breaking up vegetation areas with non-flammable materials like rock walls, making sure you aren’t creating a “fire ladder” and maintaining your property. 

Here are a few tips to make your home gardening more firewise:

Keep trees to a minimum within 10 feet of your house. Deciduous trees are preferable because they have low amounts of flammable resin and the leaves have high moisture content. Trees like aspens are great because they don’t accumulate large amounts of dead branches, needles or leaves that could fuel a fire.

If you do have trees close to your house, prune the branches so that they don’t touch or overhang your home. Additionally, prune low branches as well, so they are less likely to catch fire from flames traveling along the ground. 

Tree limbs within 15 feet of a chimney or encroaching on power lines should be removed.

The plants nearest your home should be more widely spaced and smaller than those farther away. Choose plants of high moisture content, such as succulents. Herbaceous plants such as bedding plants, bulbs and perennial flowers are also good choices near your home.

Your landscaping should be made up of small clusters of plants and not large masses. Break up these areas with decorative rock, boulders or stepping stones, which will slow the spread of fire on your property. 

Remove dead vegetation, including branches, twigs, leaves and needles, as well as dried out grasses. Remember to remove plant debris in your rain gutters, too. 

Make sure you get rid of ladder fuels. Sometimes, fire climbs vegetation just like the rungs of a ladder; a layer of pine needles catches fire, spreads it to a nearby shrub, which then spreads it to a tree. Removing lower limbs of trees or reducing shrub height can help stop fire from moving up the ladder.

Rake up leaves and litter before and during fire season and if you have a lawn, keep it mowed.

Have fire tools handy, including a long (100-foot) garden hose, shovels, rakes and a ladder. 

If you have a fireplace or wood stove, make sure your wood pile is at least 30 feet from your home or other structures.

No plant is 100% fireproof, and living in Northern Arizona doesn’t mean you shouldn’t enjoy having trees, shrubs and flowers in your yard. But carefully planning, managing and maintaining your landscape can help prevent disaster when wildfires are nearby.

If you have any questions about Firewise landscaping or fire-resistant plants for your garden, please visit us at Warner’s Nursery. 

Happy gardening! FBN

By Misti Warner-Andersen

Misti Warner-Andersen is the manager of Warner’s Nursery & Landscape Co., located at 1101 E. Butler Ave. in Flagstaff. To contact Warner’s Nursery, call 928-774-1983.