Salt Damage to Landscape Plants

While de-icing salts are great for melting ice & snow on roads and walkways, they can do a lot of damage to landscape plants.

Salt can damage plants in two ways. First by the spray of salt that it receives which kills dormant buds by penetrating leaf scars and second, in the soil where it breaks down into sodium and chlorine.  

Damage can occur to plants located up to 50 feet away from heavily salted areas.  On evergreens, damage from salt spray first appears as browning of needles facing the road. Browning is noticeable in February and March but becomes more obvious in spring and summer as the brown needles will drop off. 

On deciduous trees the effects of road salt is noticed by many ways. Unopened flower buds, twigs that have died back. Leaves are sparse, stunted or show signs of leaf scorch.  In some cases, the tree will show its fall color sooner and many times leaves will fall off earlier. The good thing is that trees are are less likely to absorb a lot of salt when they are dormant.  However, young trees are more susceptible to damage because they have fewer roots.

While salt damage is more predominate near the roads where tons of de-icing salt is laid during the year, let's not forget about our front porch steps, walkways and patios, where there are landscape plants as well, such as junipers, small evergreens, etc. Careful application of de-icing salt should be used or substituting sand.

There are some things that you can do to help minimize the damage that salt spray can have:

- Avoid using salts, using sand instead.

- In early Spring, before spring growth occurs flush out the soil with an application of 6 inches of water to help leach out the soluable salts.

- Apply gypsum to soils that are high in sodium.

- Mulch should be applied to reduce water loss, as salt will have a tendancy to dry out the soil.

- Plants that show salt damage should be watered, fertilized and pruned .

- Plant salt tolerant plants near roads.

Spring and early summer may not seem like the time to worry about winter salt damage, however if you're choosing new planting sites or are a newcomer to landscaping here are some trees & shrubs that are more tolerant to de-icing salt.

- Norway Maple
- Birch
- Ash
- Ginkgo
- Honeylocust
- Eastern Red Cedar
- Cherries
- Oaks (most varieties)
- Elms
- Fringe Tree
- Golden Rain Tree
- Sweetgum
- Sweetbay Magnolia
- Colorado Spruce
- Yews

                    Beauty Berry                   
                    Cotoneaster                   

             Rose of Sharon           

  St. Johns Wort

   Japanese Holly

Bayberry

Mock Orange

Cherry Laurel

Pyracantha

Purple Leaf Sandcherry

Rugosa Rose

Spirea

Lilac

Viburnum

For more information on Winter Damage On Plants, please visit our website:

Rutgers Landscape & Nursery