Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show/podcast: Native salt tolerant plants
Minnesota has had one of the snowiest winters in a long while. The ice has been awful.
400 crashes reported on icy roads one morning in the Twin Cities! The salt truck was BACKING UP my hill so the salt preceded the truck! YUP, those salt trucks are necessary to help prevent more crashes and falls.
I expected it and finally received it… a note from my poor mailman to get rid of the ice in front. And the battle continues…
The chipper is great but I HAD to use a product to help.
Salt can interfere with the plants water uptake through its root system. It will look like root damage or drought and include stunted growth, scorching on leaves and maybe the formation of witches’ brooms on shrubs/trees on the salt side of the plant. Here’s more on witches’ brooms.
They were dubbed “witch’s brooms” in Medieval Europe because it was believed witches placed them high in trees, and even rested in them.
As you consider landscaping, consider native salt tolerant plants! And also consider possible plow truck damage and the mature size of your plants. Place them accordingly, especially if you have on street parking, you don’t want your plants trampled or hide someone’s line of sight for safety.
Native perennials include Butterfly Weed, which is also a host for the monarch butterfly, barren strawberry, wild bergamot and yarrows.
Ornamental native grasses that tolerate salt include Big bluestem and Little bluestem and Switchgrass. Consider interplanting with black eyed Susan. Some native shrubs include Summersweet, Serviceberry, Winterberry and my favorite tree, Hackberry.
