Wednesday, July 8, 2015 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Cut down chance of disaster with landscaping
By Kym Pokorny
OSU Extension Service
CORVALLIS — Drawing
a line around the house with
fire-resistant landscapes can
mean the difference between
a home consumed by flames
and one left standing.
“Fire specialists love to
show us pictures of houses
where people took precau-
tions,” said Brad Withrow-
Robinson, forester with Ore-
gon State University’s Exten-
sion Service. “I’ve seen ump-
teen photos of land charred all
around and a little house left
standing in the middle. Not
always, but often.”
This year could be a bad
one for people who live in
rural areas or on rural-urban
boundaries, he said. “We’ve
had a very dry, warm spring
and all the fire predictions
from Oregon Department of
Forestry are indicating the
potential for a big fire year,”
Withrow-Robinson said.
“This year would be the year
to be thoughtful about the
defensible space near the
house.”
To help create that, OSU
Extension developed a guide
to fire-resistant landscape
plants for the Willamette Val-
ley, which you can now down-
load free as an app for iOS
and Android phones. The 190-
page publication also comes
as a mobile-friendly or print-
able PDF.
Co-author Brooke
Edmunds, a horticulturist
with OSU’s Extension Ser-
vice, said the guide features
170 plants that thrive in the
Willamette Valley. Plants are
organized into ground-cov-
ers, perennials, vines, shrubs
and trees. Icons indicate what
level of water and sun a plant
needs, as well as other details
such as deer-resistance, and if
it attracts bees, butterflies or
birds. Height, width and har-
diness information and other
descriptions are also included.
“No plant is fire-proof,”
Edmunds said, “but some are
considered fire resistant.”
In general, these would be
plants with more supple leaves
without a waxy or resinous
surface. Other plants to avoid
are those that accumulate a lot
of dry branches or needles.
Some of the plants featured
in the guide are:
Carnation (Dianthus): An
evergreen ground-cover that
grows 6 to 9 inches tall and 15
inches wide, has pink flow-
ers that appear in June and
July and is hardy in zones
3-9. It takes partial to full
sun, attracts birds and butter-
flies and grows well in rock
gardens.
Tickseed (Coreopsis): A
perennial with yellow, orange,
maroon or red flowers that
bloom March through Novem-
ber if kept deadheaded. The
blossoms entice butterflies
and the seeds are attractive to
birds. Grow in part to full sun
in well-drained soil. Hardy in
zones 3-9.
Delphinium: A perennial
that prefers well-drained soil
and grows upright to 2 feet
and gets 18 to 36 inches wide.
The blue, pink, purple or
white flowers bloom in March
and April. Delphiniums take
partial to full sun and need
well-drained soil. Hardy in
zones 5-9.
Daphne (D. x burkwoodii):
A 3- to 5-foot, semi-ever-
green shrub with highly fra-
grant white to pink flowers
that bloom in May and June
and attract butterflies. This
plant needs partial shade and
iStockphoto.coM/dinadeSign
Coreopsis is a hardy, long-blooming perennial considered fire resistant.
well-drained soil with a neu-
tral pH. Hardy in zones 4-8.
Black oak (Quercus velu-
tina): A deciduous tree with
a spreading crown and good
fall color. Grows 50 to 60 feet
tall and wide. The diminutive
flowers in March through May
appeal to birds and butterflies.
Acorns attract wildlife. Grows
in full sun and is drought tol-
erant. Hardy in zones 3-9.
The guide is a spin-off of
the 48-page Fire-resistant
Plants for Home Landscapes,
which was written by Amy Jo
Detweiler, an Extension horti-
culturist, and Stephen Fitzger-
ald, an Extension forester, and
produced in collaboration with
Washington State University
and Idaho State University. It
highlights plants appropriate
for all areas of the Northwest.
In addition to planting
fire-resistant plants, Edmunds
recommends the following
precautions:
• Move plants, especially
flammable ones, away from
the house.
• Clean up dead brush and
debris and move firewood
away from buildings.
• Trim trees and shrubs to
keep them about 10 feet from
each other.
• Use non-flammable
mulch such as rocks near the
house.
• Have irrigated zones
around the home’s perimeter.
• Clean off debris from
roof and gutters.
• Remove lawn close to
the house or keep it closely
cropped and watered.
Keep potted plants
well-irrigated.
Construction
begins on
oregon State
Bend campus
BEND (AP) — Construc-
tion is under way to build an
Oregon State University cam-
pus in Bend that was delayed
for a year by legal challenges.
The Bend Bulletin reports
residents concerned about
the impact the campus would
have on community traffic
have seen their legal chal-
lenges denied by city and
state officials as well as an
independent hearings officer.
The group has filed an
appeal with the state supreme
court. OSU began construc-
tion at the site this week.
OSU-Cascades Vice Presi-
dent Becky Johnson said fur-
ther court challenges would
only mean small changes to
the university’s plans.
Campus capacity will
be less than 2,000 students.
The purchase of nearby land
would allow an expansion for
5,000 more to enroll.
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