they could withstand some burning but i wouldnt let em go in a tall grass fire.
u can weed wack around them and rake away so the fuel isnt right into them. or start the backfires next to the brush.

froggy

One of the main purposes of a fire is to control woody invasives (trees and shrubs) and a good grass fire will get rid of (or nearly so) a mature river birch (I know...I had some around the pond) :)

Both ninebark and the shrubby dogwoods will resprout vigorously and flower within 2-3 years of being "top-killed" by fire. They are thus fairly tolerant of occasional (but not annual) burning. By "hoosier dogwood", do you mean red-osier, Cornus sericea? It fits this category of fire tolerance.

you could take the tips off in the winter. keep em cold then sweat those shoots in the spring. as many clones as u want. that way, if u do char it...u got more :) better u get the tips than fire.

i just cut most of my dormant woody stems this week so it was just a though.

froggy