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Home / Guides / How to read a record / Windbreaks that don't become wicks

Windbreaks that don't become wicks

Last verified 2026-08-26.

By keeping the conifer rows where the windbreak sheets put them, not in the first five feet. ISU Extension (last reviewed 1 April 2019) says incorporate conifers as the major tree where soils allow. Deciduous trees are only 5–20 percent as effective as conifers. PM-1716 (August 1997) puts the inside row of a narrow windbreak at least 75 feet from buildings. Iowa DNR Firewise (Fall 2009) starts with a 5-foot nonflammable perimeter. This directory’s Juniperus virginiana and Pinus strobus currently compute as avoid and include IA. A farmstead windbreak is not Zone 0.

You are looking at a three-row redcedar belt ten feet off an Iowa farmhouse, because winter wind is the problem you feel, and asking whether that belt is Firewise. The opened windbreak sheets are selling year-round density. The opened DNR sheets are selling a bare five feet. Those are not the same planting.

This is not an Iowa doorway.

Why it matters

“Windbreak” is easy to hear as “trees against the house for protection.” ISU’s opened pages are farm infrastructure: 7–25 percent less heating fuel (2019 HTML), livestock conversion, snow. DNR’s opened Firewise parts 2 and 3 are ignition: 5-foot nonflammable, 30-foot irrigated, evergreens as ladder seedlings at 100–200 feet. Fence as a wick is the attached-combustible version of the same mistake. A greenstrip is a Nevada rangeland fuel break, not an Iowa shelterbelt.

This site’s Iowa plant evidence is USDA distribution, not a windbreak list and not a DNR rating. Counting 399 rows as a shelterbelt palette inflates a catalog that is not an Iowa Firewise list.

How it works

The windbreak (ISU, reviewed 1 April 2019; Pm-1716 August 1997; PM 1717 February 2005):

Minimum three rows. Standard: a row of shrubs with two rows of conifers. Function improves with each added row up to 10.
Conifers as the major tree where soils allow. Deciduous trees are only 5–20 percent as effective (2019 HTML). PM 1717: five to eight deciduous rows produce the same wind reduction as two conifer rows.
2019 HTML: inside row 50 feet from the protected site (snow), or with wider windbreaks 100 feet from the outside rows. Protection becomes minimal at 15 to 20 times the height.
Pm-1716: inside row of narrow windbreaks at least 75 feet from buildings, or the outside row 100 to 150 feet from the protected zone. Significant snow drifting in the first two heights of a narrow windbreak. Density 55 to 85 percent for the greatest combination of benefits. Energy-cost reductions as much as 20 to 40 percent.
Locate north and west. Do not surround the farmstead with a solid barrier.
Never a single species. PM 1717 names eastern red cedar, white pine, white spruce, Black Hills spruce, Colorado spruce, Norway spruce, arborvitae, and others as commonly used. Scotch pine is no longer recommended.

The renaissance (Billy Beck, 6 January 2022):

Aging Iowa windbreaks are not functioning: decline, storm, insects, disease.
Monocultural planting of non-native blue, white, and Black Hills spruce has led to widespread loss of functionality.
Conifers that perform best: eastern redcedar and white pine (native to Iowa); northern white cedar, Norway spruce, and white fir (non-native, hardy).
NRCS staff provide renovation and establishment technical service and should be an initial contact. EQIP and REAP are named cost-share. Iowa DNR professional foresters are named as another resource.
The NRCS Conservation Practice Standard 380 body was not opened for this article.

The house (Iowa DNR Firewise, Fall 2009):

5-foot perimeter: rock, pavers, annuals, high-moisture perennials. Dead leaves and stems off the landscape, gutters, and under the deck.
30-foot zone: well-irrigated; free from flammable materials; low-growing, carefully spaced plants; mow; keep wood mulch moist; lowest limbs 6 to 10 feet; limbs off the house.
30 to 100 feet: clusters of two or three trees 30 feet apart, or individuals 20 feet apart; mix deciduous and evergreen.
100 to 200 feet: thin; remove evergreen seedlings among taller trees (ladders); prune so treetops are not touching.
Firewood and propane at least 100 feet. Do not attach wood fences to the home. A fire’s fuel includes trees, shrubs, grass, homes, fences, decks.
Rural fire departments: extra reaction time, volunteer crews, limited tanker water.

This directory:

Iowa currently holds 399 records with IA in USDA distribution: 260 on-list, 25 avoid, 9 conflict, 105 candidate. That is occurrence. Neither ISU nor DNR rated those rows as a state Firewise palette.
Juniperus virginiana currently computes as avoid and includes IA. PM 1717 and Beck name eastern redcedar as a windbreak conifer. That is winter density at 75 feet, not a 5-foot planting.
Pinus strobus currently computes as avoid, consensus, and includes IA. Beck names white pine as a native performer.
Thuja occidentalis currently computes as conflict / disputed and includes IA. Beck names northern white cedar as a non-native hardy windbreak conifer. Conflict is not a planting permit.
Juniperus communis currently computes as avoid and includes IA.
Picea glauca currently computes as conflict and does not include IA in USDA states on this record, so it is not on the Iowa plant evidence page. PM 1717 still names white spruce as a commonly used Iowa windbreak conifer. Naming in a windbreak pamphlet is not the same as USDA distribution on this site.

See how to read a plant page. See Ozark cedar invasion for eastern redcedar as a woodland invader rather than a farm belt.

The paths

Claim	Opened source	What it is not
Conifers “earn” the windbreak	5–20% deciduous effectiveness; winter leaves	A 5-foot Firewise planting
50 ft / 75 ft / 100–150 ft	Snow control and wind shadow	Zone 0
Eastern redcedar on the ISU list	Farmstead density at windbreak distance	An on-list house plant
399 Iowa plant records	USDA distribution	An Iowa Firewise or windbreak list
Mix deciduous and evergreen at 30–100 ft	DNR Firewise spacing	A solid three-row cedar wall at 10 ft
NRCS 380 / EQIP	Cost-share and technical contact (Beck 2022)	A species table (380 body not opened)
Greenstrip	Nevada rangeland fuel break	An Iowa shelterbelt

What people mix up

Winter wind reduction with house-side ignition.
ISU’s 50-foot (2019 HTML) and 75-foot (1997 PM-1716) inside-row figures. They are different editions. Quote the one you opened.
A three-row redcedar belt in the first thirty feet with DNR’s “mix deciduous and evergreen” at 30–100 feet.
This site’s Iowa catalog as a DNR or ISU rating.
White spruce on PM 1717 with Picea glauca on the Iowa plant page. The opened record has no IA.
A greenstrip with a farmstead windbreak.
An attached wood fence with a 75-foot shelterbelt. DNR: do not attach wood fences to the home.
Scotch pine. PM 1717: no longer recommended.

How to check

Open the ISU windbreaks page. Read the conifer-major-tree sentence and the 50-foot inside-row sentence.
Open Pm-1716. Read the 75-foot / 100–150-foot paragraph.
Open PM 1717. Read eastern red cedar on the commonly-used list.
Open Beck’s 6 January 2022 renaissance post. Read eastern redcedar and white pine as native performers; NRCS as the technical contact.
Open DNR Wildland / Urban Landscape and Is Your Landscape Fire Resistant?. Read 5-foot, 30-foot, and ladder-seedling sentences.
Open Iowa plant evidence. Distribution is not a recommendation.
Open Juniperus virginiana and Pinus strobus.
Do not plant in Zone 0.

Limits

This page quotes opened ISU HTML and PDFs and opened Iowa DNR Fall 2009 Firewise parts 2 and 3. The DNR “How to Protect Your Home” brochure downloaded this session but yielded no selectable text; it is not quoted. The NRCS Conservation Practice Standard 380 body was not opened; Beck’s 2022 sentence that NRCS provides technical service is the opened NRCS claim. 399 is a count of stored USDA-distribution rows as of this writing, not a DNR statistic. Zone 0 is not a planting list.

Where this differs

Find what applies near you

Enter a ZIP before browsing the complete evidence. Matching, inherited, and place-neutral records will move first; other places and unmapped application rows will fold into expandable groups. Nothing is removed. All 3 cited place claims remain available.

Iowa DNR Firewise landscape (Fall 2009)

Start with the 5-foot perimeter nearest the home; it should have nonflammable landscaping such as rock, pavers, annuals, high-moisture perennials. The 30-foot zone surrounding the home should be well-irrigated and free from flammable materials and debris; plants should be carefully spaced and low-growing; prune trees so the lowest limbs are at least 6 to 10 feet above ground; remove limbs that hang over the house. At 30 to 100 feet, clusters of two or three trees should be 30 feet apart or individual trees 20 feet apart; try to mix deciduous and evergreen trees. At 100 to 200 feet, remove any evergreen seedlings growing among taller trees; they act as ladders for a fire to climb to the treetops. Do not attach wood fences to the home. Move stacked firewood to at least 100 feet from the house. A fire’s fuel is anything that burns, including trees, shrubs, grass, homes, fences, decks.

As of 2026-08-25 · Be Firewise Part 2: Wildland / Urban Landscape — Iowa Department of Natural Resources

Iowa farmstead species (PM 1717, February 2005)

If possible, use conifers in the windbreak because they retain their leaves during the winter months. Five to eight rows of deciduous trees are required to produce the same wind reduction as two rows of conifers. Conifers commonly used for windbreaks in Iowa are eastern red cedar, concolor fir, Douglas fir, white spruce, Black Hills spruce, Colorado spruce, Norway spruce, red pine, jack pine, white pine, ponderosa pine, and arborvitae. Due to problems with disease, Scotch pine is no longer recommended. Never use a single species.

As of 2026-08-25 · Farmstead Windbreaks: Establishment, Care, and Maintenance (PM 1717) — Iowa State University Extension

Iowa State University farmstead windbreaks

Windbreaks have been part of Iowa’s forest since settlement. Incorporate conifers as the major tree in the windbreak where soil conditions allow. Deciduous trees are only 5–20 percent as effective as conifers. Plant a minimum of three rows. Locate on the north and west; avoid surrounding the farmstead with a solid barrier of trees. The 2019 HTML stores the inside row 50 feet from the protected site (to minimize snow accumulation), or with wider windbreaks 100 feet from the outside rows. PM-1716 (August 1997) stores the inside row of narrow windbreaks at least 75 feet from buildings, or the outside row 100 to 150 feet from the protected zone, because significant snow drifting can occur in the first two heights of a narrow windbreak. The standard arrangement is a row of shrubs with two rows of conifers. Homes or confinement buildings require 7 to 25 percent less fuel for heating (2019 HTML); PM-1716 stores energy-cost reductions as much as 20 to 40 percent.

As of 2026-08-25 · Windbreaks — Iowa State University Extension and Outreach

Questions

How do you plant a windbreak that does not become a wick?

Put the windbreak where Iowa State University’s opened planning sheet puts it, not in the first five feet. PM-1716 (August 1997): the inside row of a narrow windbreak should be at least 75 feet from buildings, or the outside row 100 to 150 feet from the protected zone, because snow drifts in the first two heights. The 2019 ISU windbreaks page stores 50 feet from the protected site for the inside row. Iowa DNR’s Fall 2009 Firewise landscape sheet: start with a 5-foot nonflammable perimeter. Those distances are not the same job.

Why do Iowa windbreak guides push conifers if this site says keep juniper away?

Because they are answering winter wind, not house ignition. ISU: incorporate conifers as the major tree where soils allow; deciduous trees are only 5–20 percent as effective. PM-1717 (February 2005) names eastern red cedar among conifers commonly used in Iowa windbreaks. Billy Beck’s January 2022 renaissance post names eastern redcedar and white pine as native performers. This directory’s Juniperus virginiana and Pinus strobus currently compute as avoid and include IA. A 75-foot windbreak row is not Zone 0.

Is an NRCS 380 windbreak a Firewise plant list?

The 380 conservation-practice standard body was not opened for this article. Beck 2022 names NRCS staff as the technical contact for renovation and establishment, with EQIP cost-share. That is a practice standard and a funding path, not a species table for the first five feet. Iowa DNR’s opened Firewise PDFs are the house-side sheets.

What does Iowa DNR actually say about evergreens near the house?

Fall 2009 Wildland/Urban Landscape: the 5-foot perimeter nearest the home should have nonflammable landscaping such as rock, pavers, annuals, high-moisture perennials. The 30-foot zone should be well-irrigated and free from flammable materials; prune lowest limbs 6 to 10 feet; remove limbs that hang over the house. At 30 to 100 feet, mix deciduous and evergreen trees and space clusters. At 100 to 200 feet, remove evergreen seedlings growing among taller trees; they act as ladders. Do not attach wood fences to the home.

Is this an Iowa doorway page?

No. The object is a farmstead windbreak versus Iowa DNR’s 5-foot and 30-foot Firewise zones, and the avoid records for the conifers those windbreak lists name. Place claims sit on whereThisDiffers. The Iowa plant evidence list is USDA distribution, not this article.

Sources

Windbreaks — Iowa State University Extension and Outreach (official). Accessed 2026-08-25.
Last reviewed April 1, 2019. Conifers as the major tree; deciduous 5–20 percent as effective; inside row 50 feet from the protected site.
Farmstead Windbreaks: Planning (Pm-1716) — Iowa State University Extension (official). Accessed 2026-08-25.
Inside row of narrow windbreaks at least 75 feet from buildings, or outside row 100–150 feet from the protected zone. Minimum three rows: shrubs plus two conifers.
Farmstead Windbreaks: Establishment, Care, and Maintenance (PM 1717) — Iowa State University Extension (official). Accessed 2026-08-25.
Eastern red cedar among commonly used Iowa windbreak conifers. Five to eight deciduous rows equal two conifer rows. Scotch pine no longer recommended.
Winter '22 programs seek to start the Iowa Windbreak Renaissance! — Iowa State University Extension and Outreach (official). Accessed 2026-08-25.
Billy Beck. Native performers: eastern redcedar and white pine. Non-native hardy: northern white cedar, Norway spruce, white fir. NRCS named as technical contact.
Be Firewise Part 2: Wildland / Urban Landscape — Iowa Department of Natural Resources (official). Accessed 2026-08-25.
Fall 2009. 5-foot nonflammable perimeter; 30-foot irrigated zone; mix deciduous and evergreen at 30–100 feet; evergreen seedlings as ladders at 100–200 feet.
Be Firewise Part 3: Is Your Landscape Fire Resistant? — Iowa Department of Natural Resources (official). Accessed 2026-08-25.
Fall 2009 checklist. 30-foot zone around the house; firewood and propane at least 100 feet; mix deciduous and evergreen in the next zone.
Fire Prevention — Iowa Department of Natural Resources (official). Accessed 2026-08-25.
Firewise Communities program page. How to Protect Your Home PDF downloaded this session but extracted no selectable text (image brochure); that file is not quoted.