This One Type of Plant Can Actually Protect Your Home from a Wildfire

These fire-resistant plants prove that the best landscaping choices may be about more than just aesthetics

We never think a wildfire will affect us … until it does. In the last year alone, we’ve heard news of devastating fires in California, Colorado and all the way to Florida. These fires rage out of control, and it feels like there’s nothing you can do to protect your home. But what if we told you there was?

“Studies have shown that hardening the home against ember entry is the No. 1 action you can take to prepare your home against wildfire,” says horticultural educator Erik Blank, the garden lead at the Theodore Payne Foundation for Wildflowers and Native Plants in Sun Valley, California. Some of that “hardening” includes removing particularly flammable plants and trees from the area immediately around your home and instead surrounding it with certain types of fire-resistant plants. These plants may actually help temper the damage from a wildfire, creating a barrier between the flames and your property.

So how does this work, exactly, and which plants can potentially protect you and your property? We spoke with landscape designer Judy Kameon, founder of Elysian Landscapes in Los Angeles, and Erik Blank from the Theodore Payne Foundation, to find out. Read on for all the details, including which plants to consider … and which to avoid.

What’s the danger with plants near your home?

Most plants provide the literal fuel to a fire, and they will quickly go up in flames—right next to your house. “Embers and small flames are the main way that the majority of homes ignite in wildfires,” according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).

That’s why the NFPA recommends keeping anything combustible at least five feet away from the exterior of your home—and that includes plants. When plants are too close, they can create what’s called a fire ladder that provides a path for flames, allowing them to quickly move from low ground cover, up to shrubs, to low-hanging limbs and, ultimately, under rooftops and into the eaves of the home.

Since woody shrubs and dry thatch are basically kindling, a single spark could lead to major disaster if plants aren’t well maintained or trimmed far enough away from the building. Blank adds that leaf litter from nearby trees that ends up in the gutter can also pose a threat, as can dried pine needles or dried grasses. And Kameon warns that certain types of trees, like eucalyptus or palms with a lot of thatch, are also problematic in the event of a fire for the same reason.

What type of plants could actually protect your home from wildfires?

Succulents! These plants, which are fleshy and packed with moisture, can potentially provide some protection from flames. Think: plants like agave and aloe, as well as portulacaria, which can be found in both ground cover and shrub varieties, says Kameon.

Debra Lee Baldwin, author of the book Designing with Succulents, featured one homeowner who credits her fire-wise landscape for saving her home in a 2017 fire, while eight surrounding homes burned to the ground. This video shows the path of the fire through dried brush and trees, until you get to the lush succulent barrier between the blackened vegetation and the home, which appears unscathed.

How can these fire-resistant plants provide protection?

Succulents are commonly used in drought-prone areas because of their ability to hold water and sustain themselves for long periods without precipitation. Because of all of that stored-up moisture, they are less likely to ignite immediately when faced with fire, unlike vegetation that is dry and woody or has oily sap.

Many folks who credit their fire-wise succulent landscape for helping to spare their home in a wildfire say that the plants on the edge that faced the fire head-on seemed to cook rather than burn. Think of it in terms of a marinade: We add moisture to meat to keep it from drying out on the grill. In the same way, the moisture stored in most succulents prevents them from burning up completely before the fire moves on.

While you may think of succulents as easy-to-care-for potted plants for a desk or container garden, they propogate rather easily and can grow to become quite large and even tree-like. “The modern photographer Julius Shulman planted something like two acres of crassula as a fire break,” notes Kameon.

Ultimately, however—and this is important—there’s no such thing as a fireproof plant. Succulents are fire-resistant and create a fire break, which can potentially lead to a gap in the path of a fire that hopefully causes it to die out or move past your property.

What types of succulents work well?

The following succulents are often lauded for their fire-resistant properties, according to Kameon. Aim for a mixture of ground cover and shrub varieties using the landscaping practice called Defensible Space, which Blank explains aims to “create an obstacle course for embers.”

• Agave
• Aloe
• Crassula
• Aeoniums
• Euphorbia
• Opuntia (cactus)
• Portulacaria

Can you plant succulents anywhere in the U.S.?

Not all succulents will thrive everywhere in the United States. Most succulents prefer hot and dry regions, so folks living in areas susceptible to frost or heavy rainfall might not have as much success growing them outdoors. “Knowing the natural location of the succulent you’re working with will help you provide the optimum location in your garden,” says Blank.

Some succulents, like chaparral yucca, are adapted for extreme heat and sun exposure, he says, while others are more suited to milder environments. Kameon points out that some succulents can actually withstand frost or freeze. The iconic rosette “hen and chicks” succulent, for example, is known to be cold hardy in temperatures as low as 30 degrees Fahrenheit. Some agave varieties (like Queen Victoria agave) can withstand even colder temps into the teens. Check with your local fire department or municipality to see if they have a list of recommended plants for your region.