Replanting After the Fires: A Guide for Altadena and Palisades Homeowners
My family has called Altadena home for over 80 years. The fires this January took something from all of us — not just structures, but landscapes that took decades to grow. Gardens that people loved. Trees that had been there longer than any of us.
I've been walking these neighborhoods since the ash settled. What I see breaks my heart, but it also clarifies something: the decisions homeowners make in the next 12 to 24 months will shape the ecology of these hillsides for the next generation. Get it right and we have an opportunity to create something more resilient, more beautiful, and more ecologically alive than what was there before. Get it wrong and we'll spend years undoing it.
Here's what I'd want every homeowner to know before they put a single plant in the ground.
TIMING IS EVERYTHING — DON'T RUSH
The instinct after a fire is to replant immediately. It feels like healing. But the soil needs time, and so do you.
The first rains after a fire are critical for soil stabilization — native seed banks in the soil will often germinate naturally in the weeks and months following a fire. Some of the most important recovery happens on its own if you let it. Jumping in too early with heavy planting, irrigation, and soil disturbance can actually disrupt that natural process.
My recommendation: spend the first season observing. See what comes back on its own. Note where water moves across your property during rain. Watch where the sun hits differently now that neighboring trees are gone. That information is invaluable before you make any permanent decisions.
If you need to act immediately — for erosion control on slopes, or to establish some structure — focus on fast-growing native groundcovers and grasses. Defer the larger, slower-growing shrubs and trees until you have a real plan.
WHAT NOT TO REPLANT
This is where I'll be direct: the fire is an opportunity to break some bad habits that made these landscapes more dangerous in the first place.
AVOID THESE:
— Arundo donax (Giant Reed) — highly invasive, extraordinarily flammable, spreads aggressively along drainages
— Cortaderia selloana (Pampas Grass) — invasive, fire-prone, crowds out native species
— Eucalyptus — beautiful, but highly flammable and allelopathic — it suppresses the growth of other plants around it
— Myoporum — invasive, has escaped into wild areas throughout Southern California
— Ice plant as a fire break — a persistent myth. Ice plant is not an effective fire retardant and crowds out natives
— Any non-native grass as a lawn replacement — they green up in winter and become tinder by July
The chaparral and coastal sage scrub communities that belong in these foothills evolved with fire. They know how to come back. Your planting palette should support that recovery, not compete with it.
WHAT TO PLANT INSTEAD
The plants that belong in Altadena and the Palisades are the ones that have been here for thousands of years. They're adapted to drought, to heat, to the specific soils and light conditions of these hillsides. They support local birds, pollinators, and wildlife. And when managed correctly, they're far more fire-resilient than the ornamental landscapes that replaced them.
A starting palette for hillside recovery:
GROUNDCOVERS + LOW SHRUBS
— Salvia spathacea (Hummingbird Sage) — spreads by rhizome, low water, stunning in bloom
— Artemisia californica (California Sagebrush) — aromatic, fast-growing, excellent habitat
— Encelia californica (Bush Sunflower) — quick to establish, bright yellow, loved by pollinators
— Eriogonum fasciculatum (California Buckwheat) — keystone species for insects, seeds birds through winter
MID-SHRUBS
— Salvia leucophylla (Purple Sage) — one of the most beautiful native shrubs, drought-tolerant once established
— Rhus integrifolia (Lemonade Berry) — dense, fire-resistant once mature, excellent screen
— Ceanothus (various) — nitrogen-fixing, fast-growing, spectacular in bloom
TREES
— Quercus agrifolia (Coast Live Oak) — the keystone species of these foothills. Plant them young and let them grow. Nothing does more for the ecology of a property.
— Heteromeles arbutifolia (Toyon) — the plant that gave Hollywood its name. Berries for birds, structure for the garden, fire-resistant bark.
WHEN TO WORK WITH A LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT
I want to be honest about this because I think there's a lot of confusion.
DIY replanting is absolutely possible and in many cases the right choice — especially for smaller, flatter properties where the primary goal is establishing a native garden. If you're comfortable with plants, willing to learn, and have a manageable site, you can do a lot on your own. The Theodore Payne Foundation, the California Native Plant Society, and the Las Pilitas Nursery website are extraordinary resources.
Where a landscape architect adds real value:
SLOPE AND DRAINAGE — If your property has significant slope, a drainage issue, or erosion concern, the decisions you make about grading, soil stabilization, and planting sequence have long-term structural consequences. This is where professional guidance genuinely matters.
SCALE AND INTEGRATION — If you're rebuilding a substantial garden or integrating landscape with new construction, having a cohesive plan from the start saves significant time and money. Replanting in phases without a master plan often means expensive changes later.
PLANT COMMUNITY DESIGN — There's a difference between planting native plants and designing a native plant community. The former is a collection. The latter is a functioning ecosystem — with a canopy layer, a shrub layer, a groundcover layer, and an understanding of how those plants will interact over time. That kind of design takes training and experience.
FIRE-WISE DESIGN — This is specific and technical. Defensible space requirements, plant spacing, species selection relative to structures, irrigation design — these decisions have real implications for fire safety and insurance. Getting them right matters.
My family's connection to this landscape goes back generations. If you're rebuilding in Altadena or the Palisades and want to do it right — ecologically, aesthetically, and with fire safety in mind — I'd be honored to be part of that process.
Start with a conversation. There's no project too early in the process to talk through.
— Stephen Blewett, CRAFT Landscape Architecture
626-768-1232 · info@craft-la.com · craft-la.com/connect