Knowledgebase

Fire-resistant groundcover for steep hillside #869871

Asked May 24, 2024, 2:55 AM EDT

I live in Salem, Oregon in a condo (one of 30). In the back of the condos is a steep hillside that is inaccessible to firetrucks, and has to be mowed with handheld equipment. The landscapers only cut it twice a year- they charge over $1,000 per mowing ($2,000 a year), which is a major expense for us. I cut my area weekly with pruning shears, since the handheld are too heavy for me. Is there a fire-resistant groundcover that I can just toss the seed. The hillside is way too steep for me to plant.

Marion County Oregon

Expert Response

It sounds like you have a very difficult planting situation.
  • What is the hillside currently planted into?
  • Can you provide care (watering, weeding) for the first few seasons until a new groundcover is established? It will be very hard for seeds to germinate and establish without proper care.
  • Can you share a photo of the hillside?
There are some recommended fire-resistant groundcovers, but I'm not sure how suitable to be planted by seed. You can take a look at the OSU Extension publication, Fire-resistant Plants for Home Landscapes. This can be viewed online or downloaded as a pdf for printing. Take a peek and let me know what additional questions you have. 
Brooke Edmunds Oregon State University Extension Community Horticulturist Replied May 30, 2024, 5:57 PM EDT
I downloaded the fire-resistant document awhile back.  It doesn’t say whether you can just toss the seeds or have to plant them.  The hillside closest to the townhouses are grasses and weeds (prickly ones), than just the prickly ones, than a  metal fence with danger signs, than a few trees before it drops over a cliff and there’s a road.  The City of Salem maintenance staff close the road every year since there are landslides every year typically in late winter.

I can water the first ten feet of the hillside.  See photo- the fence is right before where the trees start (I’m standing on my deck about 3’ above ground.  The fence line is the property line between the townhouse boundary and the city property.  The trees you see in the background are on the other side of the road at the bottom of the cliff.  It’s separated by the Willamette River and a railroad which run parallel to the road.  No, I can’t weed.  I want to fill in the dead patches of grass.  There are lots of little holes in the ground - I assume they are moles or voles (I see cats stare at some of the holes).

Thank you.

On Thursday, May 30, 2024, Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Dear Katrina, here's the response to your question:

It sounds like you have a very difficult planting situation.

  • What is the hillside currently planted into?
  • Can you provide care (watering, weeding) for the first few seasons until a new groundcover is established? It will be very hard for seeds to germinate and establish without proper care.
  • Can you share a photo of the hillside?
There are some recommended fire-resistant groundcovers, but I'm not sure how suitable to be planted by seed. You can take a look at the OSU Extension publication, Fire-resistant Plants for Home Landscapes. This can be viewed online or downloaded as a pdf for printing. Take a peek and let me know what additional questions you have. 

Need to reply to the expert? Click the link below, or simply reply to this email.

Click here to view #0139792

Brooke Edmunds
Oregon State University
Extension Community Horticulturist

We hope this response has sufficiently answered your questions. If not, please do not send another email. Instead, reply to this email or login to your account for a complete archive of all your support requests and responses.

The Question Asker Replied May 31, 2024, 3:49 PM EDT
This is definitely a tricky situation! 
No guarantees that this technique will be successful, as seeds germinate best when there is good contact with the soil and adequate moisture. 

These are the recommended fire-resistant groundcovers that are very low-growing, so they can be mowed along with the grass, AND are available as seed:
  • Creeping thyme (Thymus praecox)
  • Iceplant (Delosperma spp.) 
Best of luck!
Brooke Edmunds Oregon State University Extension Community Horticulturist Replied June 05, 2024, 1:40 PM EDT
Thank you!  I had thought about the creeping thyme when looking at your document before, but will check on the iceplant too. The landscape company we hire only mows twice a year - they charge over $1,000 each time (there are 30 townhomes so it’s a big area to use handheld equipment and they use 3 people), so our homeowner association can’t afford more than twice a year.

Thanks again 

On Wednesday, June 5, 2024, Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Dear Katrina, here's the response to your question:

This is definitely a tricky situation! 
No guarantees that this technique will be successful, as seeds germinate best when there is good contact with the soil and adequate moisture. 

These are the recommended fire-resistant groundcovers that are very low-growing, so they can be mowed along with the grass, AND are available as seed:

  • Creeping thyme (Thymus praecox)
  • Iceplant (Delosperma spp.) 
Best of luck!

Need to reply to the expert? Click the link below, or simply reply to this email.

Click here to view #0139792

Brooke Edmunds
Oregon State University
Extension Community Horticulturist

We hope this response has sufficiently answered your questions. If not, please do not send another email. Instead, reply to this email or login to your account for a complete archive of all your support requests and responses.

The Question Asker Replied June 05, 2024, 8:15 PM EDT

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