laceshrub

Ohio’s historical bulletin gives Stephanandra incisa L, meaning Low flammability. The Eastern U.S. selector assigns At Risk and marks ladder potential without pruning Yes. Its heading uses the source spelling Stephandra incisa.

The selector praises playground hedges for resisting breakage when fallen into. That durability does not establish playground fire safety. It records a mature height of 4 feet.

Growing conditions also need their own attribution. Ohio requires acid soil and calls the shrub urban adaptive. The selector records adaptable soil pH, low tolerance of poor drainage and high drought resistance. Neither description explains the grade difference.

Ohio allows low-rated deciduous shrubs judiciously in foundation plantings, with dead-material removal and spacing that prevents ladder fuels reaching roofs or trees. Its use code Sp means Specimen; the row’s M is undefined in that legend and supplies no mass-planting permission.

For high-fire-risk sites, the selector assigns this shrub LZ2. Both frameworks define Zone 2 as 5 to 10 feet from the house, with lawn, avoidance of readily ignitable fast-burning evergreens, and fuel breaks such as raised beds, rock gardens, paths, walls or patios. Their tree-crown gap is 10 to 15 feet. Ohio keeps these trees small and at least 10 feet from the house; the selector requires that mature clearance vertically and horizontally. These are tree rules. The selector's general mature-plant minimum is 2 feet from structures; its foundation guidance is for plants below 18 inches, at least 1 foot away. The recorded shrub exceeds that height condition.

Ohio’s Zone 1 extends to 5 feet, keeping flammable material away from the house. Its Zone 3 spans 10 to 30 feet: debris removal and thinning reach at least 30 feet, extended to 100 feet downhill on slopes. Keep shrubs small and free of dead material; control brush and weeds annually. Steep slopes can be terraced. In this zone, the tree-crown gap above is a minimum.

Continued care includes clearing leaves, needles and twigs, removing dead, diseased, crossing and low branches, and maintaining horizontal and vertical separation. Watering and pruning must prevent deadwood accumulation. At Risk alone does not impose a removal order.