Salt-tolerant Plant List

De-icing salts (primarily sodium chloride) used to maintain safe roadways and walkways can injure or even kill plants. Evergreen plants exposed to salt spray or splashing may show browning of needles very quickly. Deciduous plants tend to show symptoms such as leaf scorch, branch dieback and stunted growth during the summer or during hot dry weather. Aerial (air-borne) salt injury is more common in our area because many plants are located near roads and highways where fast moving traffic disperses the salt into the air and onto the plants. Soil salt injury occurs when salt laden snow or meltwater soaks into the soil around root zones. There are several ways to minimize salt injury. When planting near busy roads, select plants with a high degree of aerial salt tolerance. Protect salt-sensitive plants during the winter by screening them with burlap or Plankets. Wilt-Pruf, an anti-desiccant spray, will provide additional protection. An application of gypsum (2 cups per plant) in late fall will help absorb excess soil salt. Always use mulch and water plants well before the ground freezes and during dry periods during the growing season. In spring, rinse plants thoroughly and water deeply.

TREES

Common Name	Botanic Name	Aerial Salt Tolerance	Soil Salt Tolerant
Bald Cypress	Taxodium distichum	High	X
Birch, Whitespire	Betula populifolia	Moderate
Black Gum	Nyssa sylvatica	Moderate
Crabapple	Malus	Moderate
Elm, Hybrid	Ulmus	High	X
Ginkgo	Ginkgo biloba	Moderate	X
Honeylocust	Gleditsia triacanthos var. inermis	High	X
Oak, Bur	Quercus macrocarpa	Moderate	X
Oak, Columnar English	Quercus robur	High
Oak, Northern Red	Quercus rubra	Moderate
Oak, Swamp White	Quercus bicolor	Moderate	X
Oak, White	Quercus alba	High	X
Pear, Flowering	Pyrus calleryana	Moderate
Serviceberry	Amelanchier	High
Sweetgum	Liquidambar styraciflua	High	X
Tree Lilac, Japanese	Syringa reticulata	High	X

SHRUBS

Common Name	Botanic Name	Aerial Salt Tolerance	Soil Salt Tolerant
Alpine Currant	Ribes alpinum	High	X
Barberry	Berberis	High	X
Burning Bush	Euonymus alatus	Moderate	X
Buttonbush	Cephalanthus occidentalis	High	X
Chokeberry, Black	Aronia melanocarpa	High
Chokeberry, Red	Aronia arbutifolia	High
Clethra	Clethara alnifolia	High
Cotoneaster	Cotoneaster	High	X
Cranberrybush, American	Viburnum trilobum	Moderate
Dogwood, Bloodtwig	Cornus sanguinea	Moderate
Dogwood, Gray	Cornus racemosa	Moderate
Elderberry	Sambucus canadensis	High
Forsythia	Forsythia	High	X
Hydrangea	Hydrangea	High
Lilac, Dwarf Korean	Syringa meyeri ‘Palibin’	Moderate	X
Lilac, Miss Kim	Syringa patula	High	X
Mockorange	Philadelphus coronarius	Moderate
Ninebark	Physocarpus	Moderate
Potentilla	Potentilla fruiticosa	High
Rose of Sharon	Hibiscus syriacus	Moderate
Rose, Rugosa	Rosa rugosa	High	X
Shrub Honeysuckle	Diervilla
Spirea	Spirea (most)	High
St. John’s Wort	Hypericum	High
Sumac, Gro-low	Rhus aromatica	High	X
Sumac, Staghorn	Rhus typhina	High
Tamarix	Tamarix ramosissima	Moderate
Viburnum, Blackhaw	Viburnum prunifolium	Moderate	X
Weigela	Weigela	Moderate
Willow	Salix (small shrubby types)	High
Winterberry	Ilex verticillata	Moderate
Witchhazel	Hamamelis	High
Yucca	Yucca filamentosa	Moderate	X

EVERGREENS

Common Name	Botanic Name	Aerial Salt Tolerance	Soil Salt Tolerant
Arborvitae	Thuja occidentalis	Moderate	X
Juniper, Chinese	Juniperus chinensis	High	X
Juniper, Creeping	Juniperus horizontalis	High	X
Pine, Mugo	Pinus mugo	High	X
Spruce, Colorado Blue	Picea pungens	High
Spruce, Norway	Picea abies	High	X
Spruce, White	Picea glauca	High

GROUNDCOVER & VINES

Common Name	Botanic Name	Aerial Salt Tolerance	Soil Salt Tolerant
Ajuga	Ajuga reptans	Moderate
Bearberry	Arctostaphylos uva-ursi	Moderate
Wintercreeper, Purpleleaf	Euonymus coloratus	Moderate
Vine, Climbing Hydrangea	Hydrangea anomala subsp. petiolaris	Moderate
Vine, Japanese Hydrangea	Schizophragma hydrangeoides	Moderate
Vine, Silver Lace	Polygonum aubertii	Moderate
Vine, Virginia Creeper	Parthenocissus quinquefolia	Moderate

The perennials and grasses listed below all exhibit tolerance of soil salt.

PERENNIALS

Common Name	Botanic Name
Alpine Thrift	Armeria
Artemesia	Artemisia
Asiatic Lily	Lilium
Aster	Aster laevis, nova-angliae
Astilbe	Astilbe
Baby’s Breath	Gypsophila
Bearded Iris	Iris germanica
Beard-Tongue	Penstemon digitalis
Bergenia	Bergenia
Black-Eyed Susan	Rudbeckia
Blanket Flower	Gallardia grandiflora
Blue Star	Amsonia
Bugbane	Cimicifuga
Butterfly Weed	Asclepias
Candytuft	Iberis
Catmint	Nepeta
Columbine	Aquilegia
Compass Plant	Silphium laciniatum
Coral Bells	Heuchera
Coreopsis	Coreopsis
Creeping and Moss Phlox	Phlox stolonifera and P.subulata
Bearded Iris	Iris germanica
Daylily	Hemerocallis
Dianthus	Dianthus
Euphorbia	Euphorbia
False Indigo	Baptisia
Fleabane	Erigeron
Foxglove	Digitalis
German Statice	Limonium
Globe Thistle	Echinops
Goldenrod	Solidago
Hardy Hibiscus	Hibiscus moscheutos
Hen & Chicks	Sempervivum
Hollyhock	Alcea
Hosta	Hosta
Lamb’s Ears	Stachys
Leopard’s Bane	Doronicum
Lilyturf	Liriope
Mum	Chrysanthemum
Obedient Plant	Physostegia
Ornamental Onion	Allium cernuum
Peony	Paeonia
Poppy	Papaver
Prairie Coneflower	Ratibida pinnata
Rattlesnake Master	Eryngium yuccifolium
Rockcress	Arabis
Russian Sage	Perovskia
Sedum, Stonecrop	Sedum
Thyme	Thymus
Torch Lily	Kniphofia
Veronica	Veronica
Violet	Viola
Wild Bergamot	Monarda fistulosa
Yarrow	Achillea

GRASSES

Common Name	Botanic Name
Blue Fescue	Festuca
Blue Oat Grass	Helictotrichon
Feather Reed Grass	Calamagrostis
Fountain Grass	Pennisetum alopecuroides Except ‘Little Honey’ & setaceum ‘Rubrum’
Maiden Grass	Miscanthus
Moor Grass	Molinia
Northern Sea Oats	Chasmanthium
Phormium	Phormium (annual)
Prairie Cord Grass	Spartina
Purple Love Grass	Eragrostis
Ravenna Grass	Erianthus
Switch Grass	Panicum