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Holly is not a dependable fire-resistant shrub; four of six sources call it flammable or advise keeping it away from homes.
Kentucky’s cooperative extension service says holly can be highly flammable. The South Carolina Forestry Commission says hollies, gallberry, and yaupon ignite faster and burn readily. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension advises avoiding all Ilex varieties in every zone because of volatile oils or growth habit. Florida’s extension service says to remove yaupon holly and gallberry within 30 feet of a home because their resins, oils, and waxes burn readily. That explanation applies to those named plants, not automatically to every holly.
The University of Arizona’s Yavapai County extension service lists Ilex among fire-resistant plants when irrigated and maintained, while also warning that resistant plants are not fireproof. The Alabama Forestry Commission places holly among its suggested shrubs. Neither favorable source cancels the warnings based on ready ignition or proximity to a structure.
For a homeowner, the conflict leaves little reason to rely on the broad name “holly” as a promise of safety. The overall conclusion is to treat holly as highly flammable and keep it away from structures.
The Alabama Forestry Commission's five-page AFC-FP-04 booklet is an Alabama publication and contains 31 printed suggested or fire-prone plant occurrences. FireApproved publishes 27 exact species or genus owners and holds one infraspecific form plus two named cultivars; this historical source scope does not establish current site suitability for a particular Alabama property.
South Carolina Forestry Commission publishes this explicitly as its Fire Smart Plant List for South Carolina. FireApproved publishes 63 exact genus owners from 72 unique common-name labels; unsafe common-name mappings and duplicates are not broadened. The brochure calls the list non-inclusive and does not establish species-level or site-specific suitability.
Travis County, Austin area (TX footprint); partial normalized coverage · 2024-01-16
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension publishes this page through its Travis County horticulture program. FireApproved publishes 56 exact owners and retains the source's zone and warning conditions. This is county/Austin regional context, not a second statewide Texas table or site clearance.
University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension and the Kentucky Division of Forestry publish this small-woodland guidance for Kentuckians. FireApproved exposes its 13 exact species or genus owners while retaining the prose-example grain. It is not a scored or comprehensive state table.
Yavapai County (AZ footprint); partial normalized coverage · 2025-03-14
University of Arizona Cooperative Extension authors Bulletin 34 for Yavapai County. FireApproved publishes 198 exact source owners from its resistant and prone tables and keeps the county boundary visible. County publication scope is regional Arizona context, never statewide scope.
2. Why this plant is relevant here
State distribution
Documented in KY.
Native range
Introduced / established
USDA hardiness
3. Legal, ecological, and broader status
Legal-list status
Seed-list status
Reported invasive here
Broader regional context
Federal context
How to read this page
The status above is computed from the cited rows below: independent recommendations can support a fire-resistant result, an avoid row can produce keep-away, and disagreement stays visible as conflict. Placement notes preserve each source’s own scheme rather than translating unlike rules into one scale. This is evidence about a plant, not permission to plant it in every part of the defensible space; Zone 0 remains noncombustible.
Where its sources say to plant it
Placement rules below use each source's own distances or named zones, tied to its rating.
They are not interchangeable with the directory's current Zone 0 guidance.
Save Your Home from Wildfire: should not be planted near the home [uk-forfs-home] (with its avoid rating)
Landscaping in Florida with Fire in Mind: within 30 feet of the home [ufifas-for71-defensible-space] (with its avoid rating)
Eastern United States Fire Performance Plant Selector: Master Plant DB row 691 [lwf-2024-fps-carrier] (mid-scale rating)
Landscaping Can Be Attractive & FIREWISE: SHRUBS [SCFC Fire Smart plant-form sections] (with its avoid rating)
Firewise Landscaping: Small Shrubs; High Flammability Plants to Consider Avoiding for all Zones [Travis County Firewise page sections] (with its avoid rating)
Firewise Landscaping for Woodland Homes: Suggested shrubs [Alabama Forestry Commission booklet section] (with its recommendation)
The evidence
Grouped by what each source concluded. Primary evidence rated the plant itself
(a lab, field program, or original curation); corroboration compiled or
republished another source's rating and resolves to its root lineage.
Listed as Holly — Ilex sp.. The bulletin says fire-resistant plants tend to resist ignition when irrigated and maintained, while fire-prone plants may ignite readily and burn intensely.
The source says to remove yaupon holly and gallberry within 30 feet of the home because the plants contain resins, oils, and waxes that burn readily. This record preserves only the exact genus-level identity supported by that label.
“HIGHLY Flammable Plants (Plants that will ignite faster and burn readily)”
Listed as Gallberry; Hollies; Yaupon. The source says highly flammable plants ignite faster and burn readily; less flammable plants have some fire resistance.
“High Flammability Plants to Consider Avoiding for all Zones”
Listed as Holly-all varieties — Ilex; Hollies — Ilex. The page says Zone 1 entries should be restricted to zones 2 or 3; all-zone entries are highly flammable due to volatile oils or growth habit.
