The salt that is placed on roads and walkways in the winter does more than cause damage to your car and your boots. It can be detrimental to your plants, your trees, and your well-kept lawn. Even if you use salt sparingly on your driveway and walkways, damage from salt will not make itself known once spring comes and all of the snow melts away. Instead it can take a number of years for the salt content from many winter seasons to build up in the soil to the point where it has the power to kill plants.
What can you do to prevent your plants from suffering due to salt damage? First of all, take a look at the kind of salt you are using. This makes a big difference. If you use table salt on your walkway or sodium chloride, then you will want to switch to using calcium chloride. The white pellets that make up the latter type of salt are less toxic to plants and dissolve in a slower manner.
When you shovel snow that is mixed with salt, do not shovel it onto your lawn or any areas where plants are (or will be come spring). On warmer winter days if you are hosing down your driveway or walkway, make sure that you direct the flow of water away from your garden, your shrubs and your lawn. You might want to dig small grooves along the edge of walkways or your driveway that can act as extra drainage. Grooves should be no more than two inches deep with a width of no more than one- half to three-fourths of an inch.
Some plants are more tolerant of salt than others. If salt is a problem for your yard every winter, then consider planting evergreens such as ink berry or shore juniper, which can cope with a dose of salt. Other salt tolerant plants include shrubs, such as arrow wood viburnum and bayberry, and small trees, such as Lavelle hawthorn and serviceberry.
