LANDSCAPE (SEASONAL MAINTENANCE)
A resilient landscape is fire-wise, water wise and promotes biodiversity by using California native plants. These gardens use sustainable practices, plant selection, and maintenance to reduce the risk of fire in the defensible space zone. Resilient gardens save water, protect us from fire and promote biodiversity.
Fall is a time of transition in the landscape. The weather continues to be hot and dry in the early fall months, and fire risk is at its highest. Continued fire readiness is critical! Ensure that your landscape is still fire-safe. Regularly clear your roof and gutters of fallen debris to prevent ignition from flying embers in the event of a wildfire. Maintaining your property is a year-round task.
Later in the fall, as the weather cools and fall rains approach, it is a good time to begin new plantings. While air temperatures are cooler, soil temperatures are still warm enough to encourage root growth. Fall and winter rains allow new native plants to expand their root systems, helping them to thrive during the coming summer months.
Fire Readiness
- Maintain your roof and gutters free of leaves and other debris.
- Prevent falling leaves from accumulating along the house foundation and fences. Remove debris regularly!
- Clean up dead leaves and other plant material from within trees and shrubs.
Caring for the Fall Garden
- In Zones 1-2, allow leaf litter to enrich the soil after fall rains and throughout winter and spring, but minimize it in Zone 1 in the summer. When removing leaves, use a rake, not a leaf blower (see below).
- Prepare for rain and erosion. Keep soil covered with appropriate plants and mulch, depending on the zone. Clean debris from gutters and drains.
- Reduce watering with the approach of the rainy season (usually November to March/April in Northern California).
- Monitor water needs of newly installed plants. This establishment phase is critical and will ensure long-term health of your landscape.
Pruning for Healthy Plants
- Most of the herbaceous perennials can be cut back to about 6” from the ground every 2-3 years in late fall to discourage woody growth. Alternating years for maintenance between groups of plants conserves cover for wildlife. Some popular plants that respond well to cutting back are California fuchsia, coyote mint, and many sages and buckwheats.
- Cut back cool season grasses just before they start to grow with fall rains. Native grasses that respond well to this practice are needlegrass, California fescue, red fescue, tufted hairgrass, and California melic grass.
Irrigation
Fall is an important time to water new plants to get them properly established. Existing, older vegetation should also be deeply irrigated during prolonged dry spells, as this is the time of year that they depend upon moisture to stimulate growth and insure overall vigor. For more information about irrigation systems, check our Irrigation section here. If we don’t receive fall rains, it’s important to provide supplemental water to native plants.
About Leaf Blowers
Avoid use of leaf blowers in the garden. Leaf blowers blow away mulch and topsoil, decreasing your plants’ ability to regulate temperature and retain moisture. Leaf blowers are also a fire hazard due to the engine heat and the sparks they can generate. Use a rake instead.
Winter in Northern California is defined by the arrival of storms bringing rain at lower elevations, and occasionally snow above 2,000 feet. Depending upon proximity to the coast, freezing weather may occur on winter nights. While winter rains lessen wildfire risk, fire events can still occur and maintaining your property is a year-round task. This is a good time to do significant removal of unwanted vegetation, since birds aren’t breeding until late February.
Fire Readiness
- Maintain your roof and gutter free of leaves and other debris.
- Prevent falling leaves from accumulating along the house foundation and fences.
- Clean up dead leaves and other plant material from within trees and shrubs.
- Winter is a good time to remove clutter from around the home.
Caring for the Winter Garden
Some landscape plants are susceptible to freeze damage in the winter. Plants killed by frost can become a fire hazard in the Wildland Urban Interface. Help your plants survive the cold by preparing for frost in early winter (December). Move tender container plants to a protected area. For plants in the ground that are susceptible to frost, assure that they are adequately hydrated and cover when freezing weather is predicted.
Apply composted wood mulches starting 5 feet away from your home or structure (no wood mulch should be used in Zone 0). Apply mulch 2- 3 inches deep around your plants to help retain water, feed the soil and avoid invasive seeds from germinating. While mulch may be replenished at any time of year, winter is a good time as many weed seeds are just beginning to germinate.- Use composted wood chips, which produce very little flame and have the slowest rate of fire spread out of 8 types of mulch treatment tested in a 2008 study. For more information:The Combustibility of Landscape Mulch.
Pruning for Healthy Plants
- Prior to pruning, always consider the purpose of a cut. Choosing the right plant for the right place will minimize the need to prune. As needed, use the horizontal and vertical spacing guidelines to guide pruning decisions, and removal of dead and diseased plant material is always appropriate.
- Several favorite California native plants such as manzanita, coyote brush, ceanothus, salvias, and buckwheat–which are beautiful and provide abundant food and shelter for wildlife are considered by some as fire prone plants. In fact, if pruned properly, well hydrated, and spaced appropriately, these plants can grace your garden as effective elements in a firewise landscape. See the Native Plants section for optimal pruning instructions for various species.
- Winter-deciduous trees and shrubs (e.g. western redbud, creek dogwood, maples, and deciduous oaks) should be pruned during their dormant period after leaf drop and before spring bud break. Waiting until the coldest winter weather has passed is beneficial It is much easier to spot structural problems such as crossing limbs at this time of the year, and to observe where removal of a specific branch will result in a more desirable shape and improve horizontal or vertical spacing.
- Thinning woody shrubs, by removing interior stems, is better than hedging the plant’s tops and sides, which causes excessively twiggy growth and accumulations of plant debris. Protected species require a permit before pruning. Whenever there is any doubt about clearing or thinning native brush, the US Fish and Wildlife Service and California Department of Fish and Wildlife should be consulted.
- Oak trees in particular are a protected species in California and require permitting. Check our section on Oak Woodlands for more information.
Spring brings rapid growth in the landscape – including weeds! Before you begin your spring garden tasks, be aware that most birds nest from late February to August. Make sure that fuel management activities do not disturb nests. Look first before cutting. Plan most major vegetation removal and pruning for the months of September to February.
Fire Readiness
- Continue to maintain the roof and gutters free of fallen leaves and other debris.
- Stay on top of weed control. Effort now will pay off with less fire fuel later in the year.
- Mow annual grasses and weeds to a maximum height of 4 inches in spring to prevent seed formation and to reduce summer fire fuels. Several mowing passes may be needed. To prevent erosion, do not cut to bare earth. Some bird species nest in tall grasses, so survey the area before mowing, and avoid areas with nests until birds have fledged.
Caring for the Spring Garden
- Spring is a critical time to pay attention to weeds that have sprouted in response to the winter rains.
- Check for the presence of any invasive species and remove them. Invasive plants are often particularly fire prone. Spring is a good time to manage many invasive species before they set seed and while the soil is moist for removing the roots. Learn more about invasives in our dedicated section.
- Birds and other wildlife have a home in your garden. Birds nest primarily in the months of March to August. Assure that fuel management activities do not disturb nests by planning most pruning and plant removal for the months of September to February.
- As plants grow, continually check for horizontal and vertical spacing.
- Since mulch will decompose during the year, top off your mulch layer to 3” to ensure the soil stays cool and moisture is retained.
Pruning for Healthy Plants
Woody, broad-leaved evergreen shrubs are generally best pruned shortly after they have bloomed. In the case of manzanitas and Ceanothus, however, delay pruning until warmer, drier springtime weather has arrived to avoid fungal pathogens that cause branch dieback. Ceanothus should not be pruned to wood larger than a pencil. Large cuts are slow to heal and susceptible to a fungal disease spread by rain.
Compost for Your Garden
If you haven’t already, start composting green waste as part of your spring cleaning. Also, leaving grass clippings on your lawn as mulch provides nutrients to your soil, helps retain soil moisture, and keeps green waste out of landfills. For more information, read these publications: Compost in a Hurry.
Sources
Hints for Composting, The University of California Master Gardeners of Sonoma County
Putting Worms to Work, The University of California Master Gardeners of Sonoma County
Summer months mark the beginning of a dry season that ranges from warm to hot depending upon proximity to the coast. Wildfire risk is typically high, and Red Flag Warnings may be issued when warm temperatures, very low humidity, and strong winds are expected to combine to produce an increased risk of fire danger.
Fire Readiness
- Apply extra vigilance to the maintenance of the roof, gutters, and Zone 0 as the hottest, driest days approach. Remove all debris promptly.
- During Red Flag Warnings, a thorough clean up around your home and landscape is recommended, along with a good soak to assure that plants are adequately hydrated. See our irrigation section for more information.
- Mow any weeds and grasses that escaped your springtime garden maintenance. Take extra care to avoid igniting a fire with mechanical mowing equipment.
- Keep all plants healthy and well hydrated.
Caring for the Summer Garden
Water appropriately to maintain healthy moisture levels without encouraging excess growth. Excess irrigation during the summer months can be very detrimental to native species that are adapted to a dry summer climate. See our irrigation section for more information.
- Utilize mulch to suppress weeds and conserve soil moisture. Review combustion characteristics of mulch treatment before making a choice of mulch type. Use composted wood chips, which produce very little flame and have the slowest rate of fire spread of 8 types of mulch treatment tested in a 2008 study.
Pruning for Healthy Plants
- Most plants will benefit from occasional corrective pruning, and all will benefit from the removal of dead wood.
- Regularly remove dead material and branches from your trees and shrubs. For deciduous trees and shrubs, prune before they lose their leaves, when it is easier to see the dead branches.
- Hand prune inside branches (thinning) to reduce flushes of growth. Hedging and shearing alone result in weak, fast growth and increased fuel.
- Most of California’s native broad-leaved evergreen trees are best pruned during summer months, including coast live oak. This avoids pruning during their period of greatest growth and bloom, and is less likely to promote pathogens that may attack the wounds. The removal or pruning of a protected native tree may require a permit. California oak tree trimming laws vary from city to city. Wider, taller and older oaks cannot legally be trimmed or felled without a permit throughout the state, but check with local city or county administrators to find out how the law applies to oak trees in a specific location. Check our section on Oak Woodlands for more information.
Sources
California Native Plants for The Garden (2006) by C. Bornstein, D. Fross, and B. O’Brien. Cachuma Press.
Adding California Native Bunchgrasses to Your Garden (East Bay CNPS, 2021)
California Watershed Approach to Landscaping (G3, 2018)
Reducing the Vulnerability of Buildings to Wildfire: Vegetation & Landscaping (UC ANR Publication 8695)
Compost in a Hurry (UC ANR, 2007)
Fire Preparation Through the Year (UC ANR, 2020)
Fire Recovery Guide (California Native Plant Society, 2019)
Getting Started with Native Plants (Theodore Payne Foundation, 2015)
Native Planting Guides (California Native Plant Society)
Pruning Tips and Techniques (California Native Plant Society)
Starting a Native Plant Garden (California Native Plant Society, 2017)
