When planning a new garden, it is worth picking more fire-smart species: there are hundreds of fire-smart plants that are less likely to ignite—hundreds (including natives) of fire-hazardous plants, that are more likely to ignite, and that should try to avoid.
If you already have a garden, however, it does not make sense to remove every plant in ground that does not have a perfect fire-smart score. There are, however, some that are particularly dangerous and that you should simply remove. Here is our Dirty Dozen, the ones that are truly worth removing this year, before the next fire season.
Removal required by the Berkeley Fire Department
- Bamboo [Bamboo spp.]
- Rosemary [Salvia rosmarinus]
- Juniper [Juniperus spp.]
- Pampas and Jubuta Grass (and, in general, most tall perennial grasses)
- Italian Cypress & Arbor Vitae [Cupressus sempervirens, Thuja] (and, in general, most cypresses)
- Acacia [Acacia spp.]
- Monterey Pine [Pinus radiata] (and, in general, most pines)
- Eucalyptus [Eucalyptus spp.]
Removal not required by the Berkeley Fire Department
- Chamise or Greasewood [Adenostoma fasciculatum] (and in general, many types of Adenostoma)
- Brooms (French, Scottish, Spanish) [Cytisus, Genista, Spartium] and Gorse [Ulex spp.]
- California Sagebrush [Artemisia Californica] (and, in general, most types of Artemisia)
- Buckwheat [Eriogonum spp.]
This article was developed by HelpBerkeley.org in collaboration with BerkeleyFirewise.org.