HARDY PLANTS: Daylilies are perfect for areas that see a lot of road salt.
Gardeners are usually the first to sing the praises of spring. After a long, gloomy winter, we’re more than ready to get outdoors and marvel at the crocuses blooming through the remaining crusts of icy snow.
But the romance of springtime often blinds us to the realities of winter’s retreat. At the beginning of April, while spring is in the air — usually after one last-ditch dump of snow, sleet or ice — nothing but muck is underfoot.
And after the winter we’ve just experienced, with record levels of snowfall, the receding humps of grimy snow banks reveal nothing more colourful than winter-weary patches of lawn violated by the treads of snowplows, the briny bite of road salt and ubiquitous doggy droppings.
While we’re all more conscious of the adverse affect of salt on the environment, there’s still a heck of a lot of it out there, and the damage can be seen in dead areas of turf grass at the edges of roads and sidewalks, the browning needles of evergreens and the dieback of deciduous tree branches.
Without getting too deep into the science of it all, salt is a plant’s worst enemy for three reasons. It interferes with plants’ ability to produce chlorophyll, causing stunted growth and in extreme cases, death. Secondly, salt absorbs water from the soil, robbing roots of moisture and the nutrients it contains, resulting in death by dehydration and starvation. Thirdly, it damages the cells of buds and twigs in such a way that they become less hardy and therefore more susceptible to late season cold snaps, which can distort or kill young leaves and flower buds.
Ever wonder why the street side of your magnolia doesn’t bloom as well as the side facing the house? Blame it on salt.
Until we all follow a salt-free road to winter driving and walking safety, we can be kind to our gardens and lawns by planting salt-tolerant shrubs, trees and perennials at the roadside. Here are 10 of the best.
Witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana): I’m not surprised that this lovely small tree stands up to salt. Any plant that blooms in late winter has to be tough.
Japanese black pine (Pinus thunbergiana): This slow-growing tall evergreen has shown high resistance to salt, as do most pines.
Wintercreeper (Euonymous fortunei): This broad-leafed groundcover may be just the thing to replace strips of roadside lawn.
Creeping juniper (Juniperus horizontalis): ‘Wiltonii’ (a.k.a. ‘Blue Rug’) and ‘Bar Harbor’ are two of the most salt-resistant varieties of this ground-hugging evergreen that’s ideal for sunny sites.
Maritime thrift (Armeria maritima): A low-growing, clumping perennial with grass-like leaves, this tufted groundcover produces tiny pink flowers that bobble atop long stems. Good for sunny sites.
Daylilies (Hemerocallis spp. and cvs.): Another tough as nails plant, daylilies make a perfect edging along a sunny sidewalk.
Maiden grass (Miscanthus sinensis): This ornamental grass dares road salt to make a dent in its handsome foliage, which lasts into winter.
Honeysuckles (Lonicera spp. and cvs.): Growing well in sun to light shade and in a variety of soils, honeysuckles are available in a wide range of forms and growing habits.
Rugosa rose (Rosa rugosa): This hardy rose species is no shrinking violet. It forms the basis of many newer varieties of roses, including the Pavement Series bred in Germany, all of which are excellent, salt-tolerant border roses.
Ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius and cvs.): Newer varieties of this shrub are tempting more and more gardeners, and knowing they’re salt tolerant too means we may be seeing more ninebarks, such as Coppertina and ‘Diabolo’, planted along the roadsides.
