During the winter months, salt is a necessary part of keeping NYC sidewalks and streets safe, but it can also take a toll on nearby plants. Tree pits, curbside gardens, and other roadside plantings are especially exposed to salt from direct application, runoff, and snow piled around their roots. The type and amount of salt used, along with how frequently it is applied, can all affect the severity of the damage.
Signs of Salt Damage
Salt damage can show up in several ways, and symptoms may not always appear right away. Look for brown or scorched leaf edges, yellowing or wilting foliage, stunted growth, and branches that die back. Salt can also build up in the soil, making it harder for plants to take up water even when moisture is available. In tree pits and roadside beds, repeated exposure year after year can make these effects even more noticeable.
Why Natives are the Answer
For gardens exposed to NYC streets, choosing plants that are naturally well adapted to local conditions can make a big difference. Many native plants are better equipped to handle the cold, fluctuating moisture, and challenging conditions found in urban environments. Selecting salt-tolerant native species for tree pits and roadside plantings can help create gardens that are more resilient and better suited to life alongside the city streets.
Examples of Native Salt Tolerant Plants
Perennials
Arrowhead (Sagittaria latifolia)
Asters (Symphyotrichum spp.)
Barren strawberry (Waldsteinia fragarioides)
Beardtongue (Penstemon spp.)
Bee balm (Monarda bradburiana, Monarda fistulosa)
Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)
Blue sage (Salvia azurea)
Boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum)
Broom sedge (Andropogon virginicus)
Buffalo grass (Buchloe dactyloides)
Shining blue star (Amsonia illustris)
Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)
Coral bells (Heuchera americana)
Golden Alexanders (Zizia spp.)
Goldenrods (Solidago speciosa, Oligoneuron rigidum)
Grama grasses (Bouteloua spp.)
Grey-head coneflower (Ratibida pinnata)
Helen’s flower or sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale)
Hoary vervain (Verbena stricta)
Horsetail (Equisetum hyemale)
Indian grass (Sorghastrum nutans)
Lance-leaf coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolata)
Little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium)
Milkweeds (Asclepias tuberosa, Asclepias incarnata)
Missouri evening primrose (Oenothera macrocarpa)
Obedient plant (Physostegia virginiana)
Phlox (Phlox spp.)
Prairie dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis)
Prickly pear (Opuntia humifusa)
Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)
Purple prairie clover (Dalea purpurea)
Rattlesnake master (Eryngium yuccifolium)
River oats (Chasmanthium latifolium)
Rose verbena (Glandularia canadensis)
Rough blazing star (Liatris aspera)
Rushes (Juncus effusus, Juncus tenuis)
Sedges (Carex grayii, Carex vulpinoidea)
Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum)
Wild indigos (Baptisia australis, Baptisia bractea)
Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
Trees & Shrubs
American plum (Prunus americana)
Bald cypress (Taxodium distichum)
Black chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa)
Black gum (Nyssa sylvatica)
Black walnut (Juglans nigra)
Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis)
Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana)
Clove currant (Ribes odoratum)
Deciduous holly or possumhaw (Ilex decidua)
Eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides)
Eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana)
Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis)
Fringetree (Chionanthus virginicus)
Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis)
Hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens)
Kentucky coffee tree (Gymnocladus dioicus)
Leatherwood (Dirca palustris)
New Jersey tea (Ceanothus americanus)
Northern catalpa (Catalpa speciosa)
Oaks (Quercus spp.)
Prairie willow (Salix humilis)
Red buckeye (Aesculus pavia)
River birch (Betula nigra)
Shagbark hickory (Carya ovata)
Spicebush (Lindera benzoin)
St. John’s wort (Hypericum prolificum)
Sumacs (Rhus spp.)
Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua)
Thornless honeylocust (Gleditsia triacanthos var. inermis)
Viburnums (Viburnum spp.)
Winterberry (Ilex verticillata)
Yucca (Yucca filamentosa)
Vines
American bittersweet (Celastrus scandens)
Coral honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens)
Trumpet vine (Campsis radicans)
Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia)
List from NYBG. Sources: MSD Landscape Guide for Greener Stormwater Infrastructure, Salt-Tolerant Natives by Greenscape Gardens, Minnesota Stormwater Plant Index, Salt Tolerant Native Plants by the JFNew 2007 Resource Catalog, Native Trees, Shrubs, and Vines for Urban and Rural America by Gary L. Hightshoe, Winter Salt Injury &; Salt-Tolerant Landscape Plants by the University of Wisconsin-Extension; Biesboer, David, and Robert Jacobson. Screening and Selection of Salt Tolerance in Native Warm Season Grasses. St. Paul: Minnesota Department of Transportation, 1994.
