Planting choices make a big difference to whether you feed or starve a wild fire. The truth is all plants can burn but low growing, ground hugging ones are less likely to cause a problem, especially if they're varieties that hold a lot of moisture in their leaves. Native perennials can be a good choice in an area where fire risk is prevalent as they grow there naturally anyway.
Where plants are placed and how they're maintained including pruning and debris removal can make a huge difference in reducing your fire risk. Adequate spacing between plants, shrubs and trees, and ensuring plenty of landscaping materials like gravel or rocks in between them is an important element in firescaping designs too.
When it's extremely hot, such as in the event of a wild fire, plants to consider are those that even though they burn won't contribute to the spread from plant to plant. So the planting choices you make can potentially have a big effect on the outcome. Here are 7 heat and spark resistant plants that will be a beautiful asset in your garden as part of your fire-smart landscaping ideas.
1. Rock Soapwort
This low-growing plant contains natural soap in its leaves that decreases flammability. Also known as Saponaria ocymoides, this pretty plant thrives in Zones 3-8, is drought tolerant, and does well in sandy or poor soil once established.
Soapwort forms a spreading mat of small semi-evergreen leaves that stays compact, so it's ideal if you're looking for heat and spark resistant plants to space evenly in the garden as part of your firewise landscaping.
'Some plants are fire retardant, in that they don’t tend to burn, depriving a fire of fuel, or they are fire resistant, being difficult to ignite,' according to Adrienne Edwards and Rachel Schleiger, authors of Firescaping Your Home: A Manual for Readiness in Wildfire Country, available on Amazon.
'Fire-resistant plants are able to act as radiant heat screens and absorb more of the heat of an approaching fire without burning. Fire-resistant ground covers can also capture burning embers without catching fire themselves.'
Abundant clusters of rose-pink blooms cover rock soapwort during summer, and the trailing stems will weave naturally through gravel and sunny borders, as well as over rocks and crevices to soften hard edges. Find rock soapwort seeds here at Amazon that are super-quick to germinate in as little as 14 days.
2. White Sage
Drought-tolerant white sage (Salvia apiana) belongs to the mint family, and has distinctive visual characteristics that immediately distinguish it from common culinary sage.
The evergreen perennial shrub enhances any garden with its silvery-white foliage, and has the beautiful distinctive scent you traditionally find with sage plants. It's also a native plant.
It's one of the best fire resistant plants too. This low-growing, long-lived variety of sage is particularly good if you're looking to add heat and spark resistant plants to your garden. Soft herbaceous varieties like white sage are a good choice for both fire remediation and water conservation.
They require very little water but have a high water content in their leaves that makes them more fire resistant.
'A bonus of planting natives is they almost always require less water than non-natives to stay healthy,' according to Adrienne and Rachel. 'Healthy plants that are sufficiently hydrated are less likely to ignite. And slow-growing, locally adapted plants can reduce your maintenance burden.'
During flowering season tall white flowers rise dramatically above foliage that attracts swarms of bees, making it invaluable for drought-tolerant pollinator gardens. White sage thrives in Zones 3-9 in sandy, gravelly, well-drained soil.
Find white sage seeds here at Walmart, then give them a headstart with a germination kit like the Smart Seed Starter available from Amazon, which has grow lights and a heat option combined to speed up seed development times.
3. Snow-In-Summer
Beautiful and low growing, snow-in-summer (Cerastium tomentosum) blooms in sunbaked spots even when it's very hot, often thriving where little else will grow.
A creeping groundcover that spreads 2-3 feet, it will soon form a dense mat of silver foliage covered with a profusion of white flowers that is perfect for hot borders, dry slopes and gravel gardens.
This is one of the heat and spark resistant plants that can handle some of the toughest droughts. In addition the leaves have a high water content that can help suppress the spread of fire. Thriving in Zones 3-7, it offers a nice contrast in the landscape with its pretty silvery-gray foliage and summer flowers.
Sow snow-in-summer seeds like this variety from Walmart directly in the ground in spring and they will germinate in 14-21 days. The good news is they will self-seed too, and they also attract butterflies.
4. Blanket Flower
The long blooming perennial also known as Gaillardia loves sunlight and is very drought tolerant. It grows low on the ground and will spread to fill your fire-wise landscape with daisy-like flowers that come in a range of colors frequently featuring red petals tipped in gold.
If you're looking for easy heat and spark resistant plants that will add a bold splash of color make these resilient, sun-loving dwarf perennials your first choice. They do best in sunny, dry locations and are hardy in zones 3–10, growing to a compact height of around 15 inches.
Another plus is they will attract pollinators all summer long. They require minimal maintenance. In fact, they made it onto our list of the best low-maintenance drought-tolerant plants.
Widely considered a good choice if you're looking for firewise planting ideas, blanket flowers have low flammability, high moisture retention in their foliage, and grow low to the ground, meaning they tick all the boxes we look for when choosing heat and spark resistant plants. Find vibrant dwarf 'Arizona Red Shades' blanket flower plants here at Amazon.
5. Daylilies
Vibrant daylilies are another great choice for heat and spark resistant plants for fire smart landscaping, especially as they have masses of lush leaves full of moisture, so they don't easily catch fire. In general, plants that are green and well-irrigated burn more slowly.
Thriving in Zones 3-10, they can easily be cut down once the leaves begin to die off, meaning they don't accumulate dry, woody material that is easily ignited.
Another plus is that they are a clumping plant that can be landscaped around with gravel or sand to create islands of planting that reduce the risk of fire spreading between them easily. In fact, these tough and hardy plants are pretty indestructible.
Find a selection of gorgeous yellow, orange, pink and purple daylilies to choose from here at Nature Hills. Plant in well-draining soil but daylilies also adapt well to various conditions, including xeriscaping.
6. Yucca
Generally considered to be fire-resistant, the succulent leaves on yucca plants store a lot of water that can slow the spread of flames.
They don't have much woody growth either, which means they're a good choice if you're looking for heat and spark resistant plants for fire-smart landscaping.
Experts say many native plants like yucca take longer to burn and recover much more quickly. Local native plant societies and nurseries can provide information. The Native Plant Society of Oregon, for example, supplies advice about landscaping with native plants. Meanwhile the California Native Plant Society’s online tool Calscape is a useful research aid when you're choosing plants.
Yuccas come in a variety of shapes from small to supersized. Thriving in Zones 4-10, they can cope with harsh, dry conditions, and their long roots access water stored deep in the soil. This means they're able to withstand long periods of drought.
Yuccas introduce an architectural quality to landscaping design and are often used as specimen plants to add a shapely focal point. Leaves come in various shades of green, gray-green, and green and yellow.
During the growing season the tall stalks of white flowers add another point of interest. For something a little more unusual try the red yucca available here from Nature Hills, which has tubular deep pink flowers that attract hummingbirds.
7. Lamb's Ears
The drought-resistant perennial lamb's ears, also known as Stachys byzantina, thrives in difficult conditions including dry shade and poor soils. It has silver-gray leaves with a high water content that resists fire, which makes it a good choice for firescaping.
To use lamb’s ear effectively in a fire-resistant landscape, plant it in the low-fuel "defensible space" zone around your home, and keep the plant trimmed back and free of any build up of dead material. This plant looks beautiful in gravel landscaping and rock garden ideas.
Lamb’s ears also spreads very well so is a great option if you're filling gaps in your fire-smart planting design. Find 'Helene Von Stein' lamb's ears here at Nature Hills, a compact spreading form that is ideal if you're looking for heat and spark resistant plants.
You may also be interested in finding out how to avoid common firescaping mistakes when planning fire-smart landscaping. Find more inspiration too in our guide to desert landscaping ideas to help you come up with a design that really works for you.
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