Malibu homeowners faced with the prospect of rebuilding following the fires of the past two months have many timely decisions confronting them. One of great importance, but often overlooked, is the type of landscaping that should surround a home. Advice from horticulturists to fire department guidelines impart that such a decision could mean the difference of your house surviving a fire or burning to the ground.
“People need to learn to live according to their environment,” Invisible Gardener Andy Lopez said. “In each case, we have to adapt. Malibu’s environmental conditions are such that it’s a lot better to work with it than against it.”
For homes in the Santa Monica Mountains this means “defensible space,” free of dry grass, brush and dead leaves extending at least 30 feet from the house in all directions. And if you live on a hill, extend that to 150 feet, since fire travels rapidly up slopes.
Lopez is an organic gardening expert with a live weekly radio broadcast that dispenses advice from chemical-free pest control to the threat of rainforest deforestation.
He believes that homeowners can benefit from a new landscaping “beginning.”
“The good news is that there are actually a number of native plants and trees that not only look great and grow profusely, [but] they are [also] naturally fire-repelling and hearty,” he said.
“To start off, you should know that plain old grass is naturally fire retardant,” Lopez said. “It’s hard to burn green grass because it holds a lot of water. The flip side, of course, is that it requires a lot of water and that isn’t necessarily good for our environment.”
The solution might be in ornamental grasses such as blue fescue or yucca whipple. “That’s a very pretty, decorative plant,” Lopez said.
There are also many fire-retardant and drought-resistant trees and plants that make good hedges.
“We have something called a century plant, which is agave americana,” Lopez said. “It’s like aloe and it lives for 100 years. It takes a long time to bloom, like every 10 years, and if you plant it around the perimeter of your property, it can get to be 15 to 20 feet high.”
Decorative trees include the Mexican blue palm, an atypical palm that doesn’t burn easily, and grows to 10 to 40 feet; the kangaroo paw is an evergreen that grows six to seven feet; the blooming monkey flower remains a modest four to six feet; or even lavender, which can grow to seven feet high.
Fire retardant hedges include woody blue curls.
“This is an evergreen shrub with purple blooms that is a variety of lantana,” Lopez said. “Purple sage is an evergreen plant that hardly needs water. It grows five feet tall and you can prune it into a shrub. You can do the same thing with sycamores.”
“And these are all approved by the California Coastal Commission,” he added.
They also “grow fast with proper food and water,” Lopez assured.
While residents should avoid having trees whose limbs touch the roof of the house, there are plenty of options for fire-resistant arboreal landscaping.
“Fruit trees are loaded with water,” Lopez said. “Olive trees produce fruit in seven to eight years and live for 30 to 40 years. Guavas are also good; apricot, plum. Citrus is a great fire retardant. You can plant them close together and they are green year-round.”
The trick to effective fruit tree landscaping is to find the varieties that work best in a particular local. “Certain types of trees won’t grow close to the ocean,” Lopez said. “Local California Rare Fruit Councils can advise you on what works best in your area because local nurseries don’t always have the best varieties.”
Lopez recommends setting up a drip-line system for watering to keep plants healthy and fire-resistant.
But the best advice is not always the most welcome advice for homeowners whose vision of Southern California paradise means swaying palm trees and stately pines.
Andrew Ferguson of Malibu Sprinklers and Landscape said that even the devastating losses from the past couple of months weren’t enough to entirely change some residents’ landscaping habits.
“I have some customers say that they still want eucalyptus and palm trees,” he said. “I guess they just think ‘it will never happen to me.'”
To contact local California Rare Fruit Councils, go to: www.crfg.org