August 2024 Plant Availability

View our ‘currant’ inventory on our website

View our ‘currant’ inventory in spreadsheet format

Greetings,

We hope you have been enjoying the cool foggy mornings and sweet sunshine-filled afternoons of summer so far. As we’re in the midst of California’s fire season right now and the Park Fire is currently burning north of us, we’ve got fire safety on our minds a lot this month.

Fire is both a natural and integral part of most ecosystems throughout California. Indigenous peoples throughout North America have used fire as both a tool and a ‘medicine’ for tending and managing the land for millennia, until fire suppression was mandated by land management agencies throughout the 20th century. When used responsibly and skillfully, as in the indigenous practices of cultural burning, fire can have extraordinary impacts on the land such as promoting ecological diversity, returning nutrients back to the soil, and reducing the risk of more destructive wildfires that have become all too frequent here in California. Thankfully, a shift has been put in motion over the last few decades with more acceptance and integration of indigenous wisdom and cultural burning practices into land management strategies.

For many residents of California, though, a fear of fire is prevalent each year during this season (and for good reason– many of us have seen the catastrophic effects of wildfires up close and personal). With that in mind, each one of us can do our part to make our landscapes more fire safe and resilient with native plants, mindful maintenance, strategic spacing, and downright beautiful landscapes, right in our own backyards!

There are a plethora of great resources straight from the experts such as CAL FIRE, the UC ANR, local fire departments, and local fire safe councils, so please take care to defer to those resources and your local authorities for specific advice and regulations– check out the resources list at the bottom of this newsletter if you’re not sure where to start!

Here are some of the main takeaways we’ve gleaned over the years and the native plants we recommend for making residential landscapes more fire safe!

Plant choice, maintenance, and location are all equally important!

Even “fire resistant” plants can burn if not strategically maintained and tactfully planted with adequate space.

General “fire-resistant” native plant characteristics to look for:

High moisture content in the plant tissues
Low to the ground growth forms (okay to plant trees if far enough away from structures and other trees; recommended to clear branches in lower third of the tree, ~6-13 ft.)
Low sap/resin content
Thick leaves
Silver/gray leaves
Leaves without hair
Less seasonal duff/dead material accumulation (may only be possible with supplemental watering in summer for some species)
Open branching habits and/or fewer overall branches (less fuel for fires)
Slow-growth rate so that less pruning is required to keep their branch structure open

Plant arrangement recommendations in the landscape to avoid “fuel ladders”

Within your Home Defense Zone (~30 ft. around your house, more if on a slope)
Plant low-growing species that you can maintain a high moisture content within, and keep a lot of space between branches to decrease fuel density.
Avoid placing plants close to structures– adjacent to siding, under vents or eaves, under or near decks, and overhanging limbs above the roof
Space and prune any single shrubs or trees that you wish to retain within 30 ft. of your home
Limit bark mulch close to buildings, and consider rock or other less flammable materials instead

Within your Reduced Fuel Zone (~100 ft. around your house)
Thin trees and shrubs and space so that there is at least 10 feet between the tips of their limbs.
For trees over 18 ft. tall, prune away the limbs in the bottom ⅓ of the trunk (ideally at least 6 ft. of from the ground) and remove shrubs around the base that could create a fuel ladder to the tree canopy.

Recommended Annual Maintenance

Even for “fire-resistant” plant species, annual maintenance is essential for reducing fire risk!
Keep plants green during the dry season as much as possible– this may require supplemental irrigation, but many native species will still require much less water to achieve this than ornamental plants
Mow grasses during the growing season (avoid using lawn mowers in dry season to avoid potential sparks that could ignite a fire)
Trim any tree limbs that are within 10 ft. of your chimney, or any dead limbs hanging over your house or other structures

Low-Growing Fire-Resistant Species

California Fuchsia

Epilobium canum

Available in 4” and 1 gallon containers for $7.90 – $14.50

This attractive herbaceous perennial has silvery green leaves, and bright red blooms atop stems ~1.5 feet tall. Space 3-4 feet apart, and prune annually or as needed to keep it looking neat!
In the garden, California fuchsia is well-suited for containers, rock gardens, informal gardens, and cascading down rock walls. It is particularly stunning when planted on a rocky slope nestled between boulders.
A terrific hummingbird plant, California fuchsia blooms during the warmest part of the year, August to October, to coincide with the south migration of hummingbirds.
Grows well with California aster, sagebrush, and Keckiella

Creeping Oregon Grape

(aka Dwarf Mahonia)

Berberis aquifolium var. Repens

Available in D-16 and D-40 containers for $8.50 – $10.90

Low-growing variety of Oregon Grape that only reaches 2 – 3 ft. tall and up to 5 ft. wide
Has a mounding and spreading growth form
Dense yellow flower clusters appear in spring, then transform into edible dark purple-blue berries
Striking choice for a ground cover in partially shaded areas of the garden, or as a bank stabilizer
Drought tolerant, but will look best and maintain better fire-resistance with some summer water

Coast Buckwheat

Eriogonum latifolium

Available in D-16 & 1-Gal containers for $7.30 – $14.50

Small evergreen sub-shrub
Grows quickly to a nice mound about 2 ft. tall and wide
Space 2 – 3 ft. apart
Round clusters of cream-colored flowers bloom April – September, turning rusty pink as they dry
A favorite of butterflies and honeybees
Form, foliage, and flowers are attractive additions to rock gardens and mixed borders
Excellent plant for erosion control
Tolerant of poor soils
Partners well with seaside daisy, sandhill sage, quail bush, and reedgrass

Fire-Resistant Trees & Shrubs

Hollyleaf Cherry

Prunus ilicifolia

Available in D-40 and 2-gallon containers for $10.90 – $30.25

This evergreen shrub/tree is slow to establish at first, but after reaching maturity it grows more rapidly to 10 – 25 ft. tall & 15 ft. wide.
Space 10-12′ apart
Thrives in full sun and has low water requirements. It has bright green, shiny, holly-like leaves and clusters of white flower spikes that cover the entire plant in March, followed by red to purple cherries.
The cherries are edible to humans, but are mostly seed and skin. Also eaten by many bird species, including robins, finches, towhees, waxwings, and mockingbirds!
Showy and easily grown from seed, Holly-Leafed Cherry is prized for cultivation. It has been cultivated for hundreds of years as a food source.
Tolerates twice-yearly pruning when used as a hedge.

Western Redbud

Cercis occidentalis

Available in D-40, TB4, and 2 gallon containers for $10.90 – $30.25

This deciduous shrub/small tree grows up to 14 ft. tall.
In the garden, this multi-trunked tree is a great choice in a perennial border or woodland garden.
The large, rounded leaves have attractive heart-shaped bases.
New growth can be coppery red!
The attractive magenta flowers appear in late summer to fall when the foliage turns light yellow to red.
The reddish-purple seed pods hang on the tree in winter.
Western redbud is native to dry slopes, usually next to a spring or seasonal creek, but in the garden, don’t overwater.
Grows well with ceanothus, Douglas iris, and coral bells.

Mountain Mahogany

Cercocarpus betuloides

Available in D-40 containers for $10.90

Mountain mahogany is an erect, slow to moderate growing chaparral shrub or small tree reaching 10-15′ tall x 6′ wide. Limited on space? It’s prune-able for a narrow planting area, side yard, screen, or hedge.
A quietly colorful plant with smooth bark, reddish gray branches, and tiny yellow flowers followed by feather-like seeds. If possible, plant in a backlit location to appreciate this plant’s unusual, silvery, glittering appearance when in seed.
Butterflies like the flowers and many small birds (particularly quail) love the dense vegetation for cover!

Resources

CAL FIRE

“Fire-Smart Landscaping”

https://readyforwildfire.org/prepare-for-wildfire/fire-smart-landscaping/

Karuk Tribe

“Good Fire II Report”

https://www.karuk.us/index.php/information/62-announcements/652-good-fire-2-report-officially-released

Sustainable Defense Space

“Eco-appropriate Homescaping for Wildfire Resilience”

https://defensiblespace.org/

Tending the Wild

“Cultural Burning”

https://www.pbssocal.org/shows/tending-the-wild/clip/cultural-burning

UC ANR

“Home Landscaping for Fire”

https://ucanr.edu/sites/postfire/files/248488.pdf

UC ANR Fire Network

“Creating a fire-resilient landscape”

https://ucanr.edu/sites/fire/Preparedness/Landscaping/

Stay Safe and ‘Bee’ Well from all of us at the Watershed Nursery!

Sign up to receive announcements of our Plant Sales and Events
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, where we highlight our plants with photos, fun facts, and gardening information!
Call, email, or visit us for all of your California native plant needs 🙂