Pruning Landscaping For Security

Pruning landscaping, such as the plants and tress you select and where you place them, can support the safety and security of your residential or commercial landscape. Landscape lighting and accessibility are also two essential aspects when planning for safety and security around your commercial and residential spaces.

Click Here to read more about the importance of a solid landscape lighting plan. Then, read on to learn more about how landscape design, plant selection, and pruning for security can support your safety goals.

Pruning Landscaping your Security

If you’re looking for ways to combine beautiful landscape features with security features, you’re best off hiring a professional landscape designer. We’ll assess your property from all angles, take inventory of what you have in the present moment, and then make recommendations depending on your overall goals.

While pruning for security is an important step, we recommend thinking about the types of shrubs and trees you have installed in the first place.

Create A Design That Uses Natural Barriers

For example, certain shrubs and trees make wonderful natural barriers. Farmers have long used prickly or densely packed bushes to serve as natural fencing for their grazing animals. You can do the same thing.

• Hedges. For example, species that form dense hedges like privets can block an intruder's view of what’s on the other side and can be carefully pruned to the size and shape you desire.
• Cacti and other prickly succulents. Many Bay Area homeowners and businesses enjoy beautiful succulent gardens, full of various cacti and prickly succulent varieties. In addition, to be a security bonus, they are extremely drought tolerant, which is ideal for a sustainable landscape design.
• Additional prickles and thorns. There are plenty of plant options with prickles and thorns, serving as a major deterrent to burglars or trespassers. It doesn’t take much contact with prickly plants, such as blackberry, agave, or rows of rambling Irish Rose to send a potential intruder the other way.

Landscapes that use natural barriers also benefit from a year-round lush, green, look since the bulk of these plants are “evergreen.” in nature.

Safety Note about natural barriers: Providing natural barriers, especially thorny ones, can become a double-edged sword. While you want to keep burglars or vandals out, you also want to make sure your home or business has sufficient fire or emergency escape routes.

Adhere To The 3-10 (Three-Ten) Pruning Rule

After researching burglary methods, many local police departments recommend adhering to the “3-7” rule.

Prune shrubs to no higher than three feet tall

To prevent potential burglars or vandals from having a place to hide, keep shrubs pruned to no more than three feet off the ground. It’s better to rely on window coverings inside the home for privacy, than to assume your landscape provides it. Instead, those “privacy shrubs” may actually create blind hidey-holes that guard burglars before and after accessing the home.

Keep limbs to a minimum of seven feet high

It’s fine to keep the limbs of a younger tree intact as they aren’t strong enough to climb on. However, once a tree has limbs strong enough to withstand 100 pounds or so, you’re best to make them as high off the ground as possible. Mature trees should be pruned and then trimmed so that the lowest limbs are no less than seven feet (7’) from ground level. This makes it harder for burglars to climb on and access upper stories.

Think “Landscape With A View” Rather Than “Jungle”

Planting a lush and thick landscape is a great way to create an oasis in the city. However, too much lush foliage provides lots of places for burglars and vandals to hide, lay in wait, or duck in cover until they feel safe to take off with the loot.

Instead of creating a jungle, work with your landscape designer to plan a landscape that has lots of foliage while also having enough of a view that there isn’t a place to hideout.

Install Climbers That Don’t Need A Trellis

A trellis serves as a ladder if it’s close enough to the home. If you love the look of a trellis covered in colorful foliage or blooms, use it on the perimeter of your home as a gateway entrance or across a pathway that is located a good distance from the building.

Keep Pruning And Other Tools Locked Away

Keeping your pruning shears, saws, ladders, and other landscape pruning tools in a shed is a great idea. However, make sure the shed is locked.

Statistics show us that the large majority of burglaries are committed by males, 25-years old or younger, and many use tools or items found near the premises to force entry into the home or business. By keeping pruning tools, ladders, and hardware locked up, you minimize their proximity to handy break-in tools or weapons.

Use Plants To Heighten Property Security

We mentioned some prickly plant deterrents up above, such as agave, blackberries, and roses. Additional plants that grow well in the Bay Area and deter burglars and vandals include:

• Whale’s Tongue
• Washingon Hawthorne (color and edible/preservable fruit is another benefit of this plant)
• Honey Locust (spikes are present when it’s pruned for security as a shrub, rather than allowed to grow into a mature tree)
• Japanese Quince
• Honey Mesquite (requires a dry, arid landscape so only plant this in intentional drought-tolerant areas)
• Ocotillo (aka Jacob’s staff and Candlewood)
• Oregon Grape
• Porcupine Tomato
• Pyracanth or “fire thorn”

Bring this list with you to your favorite nursery or landscape designer and see how they can be incorporated into your landscape plan.

Would you like assistance balancing landscape features and pruning techniques to enhance security at your Bay Area home or business? Schedule a consultation with Bay Area Landscapes.