Although road salt is a welcome icy-weather remedy to motorists, trees along the roadsides don’t appreciate its harsh effects.
Gary Johnson, an urban forester with the University of Minnesota in St. Paul, says road salt hurts trees in two ways: Salt spray from passing cars can kill buds and twigs and disfigure both broadleaf and ever green trees and shrubs; and salt accumulation in the soil can cause abnormal fall color, needle-tip burn and browning that starts on leaves’ edges and progresses toward their middle veins.
If you fear the soil around your trees has taken in too much road salt over the winter, flush the soil with water in the spring when it thaws. This should send salts beyond the trees’ root zones, where they can’t harm the trees.
To prevent road-salt damage to your trees and shrubs, Gary has a few tips.
Avoid de-icing salts — Use coarse sand to help make sidewalks and driveways less slippery. If you must use salt, use as little as possible.
Keep your plants and trees healthy — A healthy plant is better equipped to survive salt spray and accumulation.
Use barriers — Protect sensitive plants with plastic fencing, burlap or snow fencing.
Plant salt-tolerant plants near busy streets and intersections — These include Ohio buckeye (Aesculus glabra), Japanese tree lilac (Syringa reticulata), ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba ‘Fastigiata’) and winged euonymus (Euonymus alatus).
Plant salt-intolerant trees away from the road, such as crabapples (Malus spp.), white spruce (Picea glauca) and Japanese yew (Taxus spp.), .
|
|
