Does road salt kill plants in areas where road salt is used? It seems as if it might at least kill

[raccoon]

some plants growing alongside the road.

[pipi_k]

1. It does

in my area.

Many trees near the road where salt is used end up turning yellow and losing their foliage.

It seems like the more sensitive ones are the evergreens.

[TeeYiYi]

2. No...

Not that I am aware of. I live in Utah. We go through tons of the stuff in winter. If that were true, Utah wouldn't have any plant growth along its roadways and that's just not the case.

I suppose it's possible but I haven't seen it.

TYY

Edit to add that I'm possibly wrong. Here's a good source about salt on the roads. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/what-happens-to-all-the-salt-we-dump-on-the-roads-180948079/?no-ist

I still don't think it has a huge impact on plant life. Cars are another story.

[Mariana]

14. Some plants are more tolerant of salt than others.

The salt can kill the susceptible plants, and the area will then be colonized by tolerant plants.

[TeeYiYi]

16. Makes sense. ..nt

TYY

[B2G]

3. So what if it does? nt

[HappyMe]

4. Not that I have noticed in WI or in NY.

[AngryAmish]

5. Ask Carthage.

[seveneyes]

6. Upon opening Pandora's Box

Schrodinger's Cat was found dead, right next to a Gideon Bible.

[ProfessorGAC]

7. Probably Depends On the Plant

I live on a corner and the side street doesn't have a curb. The grass along the street and the arbor vitae i have as an eye-break along the back 30% of the property do ok and there is absolutely nothing that would stop the road salt from running off to those areas.

I'm sure there are plants that couldn't survive it though.

[snooper2]

8. They were asking for it anyway being that close to the edge of the road..

[procon]

9. If it doesn't penetrate to root depth, there is little risk to plants

Road salt is applied to the surface and then gets washed away. In the story of how Scipio sacked ancient Carthage, he then "salted the earth", plowing it into the soil to prevent crops from growing. When we look at the effects of salt on plants in modern times, its not because of road salt or conquering armies, but coastal flooding and rising sea levels.

[jwirr]

13. You have just explained how it happens. "gets washed away" and penetrates the soil.

[bobclark86]

10. Not really...

Mostly goes into the drainage ditches (which are still full of weeds in the summer).

[Ellipsis]

11. Absolutely

especially

red maple (Acer rubrum)
sugar maple (A. saccharum)
hackberry (Celtis occidentalis)
black walnut (Juglans nigra)
Norway spruce (Picea abies)
white spruce (P. glauca)
white pine (Pinus strobus)
Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii)
pin oak (Quercus palustris)
littleleaf linden (Tilia cordata)

[jwirr]

12. NE MN here. We used to be able to pick blueberries alongside of the roads but not any more. Now

I am not sure what killed them off but it could have been either road salt or something else. My family has always thought it was the road salt.

[dilby]

15. Kind of depends on how often the salt is used.

If you live in an area where it snows very rarely or not frequently the salt will not have a high environmental impact, if they are dropping salt everyday then yes, that will affect the environment. We do not use salt in Oregon because of the damage to the environment and our water.