5 Plants You Should Never Burn in a Backyard Fire

Never toss unidentified garden debris directly onto a backyard fire. Poison ivy, poison oak, poison sumac, oleander, and poison hemlock can create hazardous smoke when burned. Feri Eko Prabowo/Shutterstock

Fall cleanup can leave you staring at a pile of vines, weeds, branches, and dead plants that seems perfect for the backyard fire pit. Before striking a match, though, take a much closer look at what’s actually in that pile. Certain plants you should never burn contain oils or toxins that can become part of the smoke, potentially turning ordinary yard cleanup into a serious health hazard. The risk is especially easy to underestimate after plants have dried up and no longer resemble the lush vegetation you remember from summer. These five plants deserve a different disposal plan, and several are common enough that gardeners can encounter them without deliberately planting them.

1. Poison Ivy Can Put Urushiol Into the Smoke