Tree lovers beware: salt kills! According to Arbor Topics (Fall/Winter), published by the suburban Wheeling tree-care firm Hendricksen, salt from winter de-icing can draw water away from plants the same way salt draws moisture out of meat when it’s salt cured: “When salt spray or runoff gets on foliage or into the root zone…water is pulled out of the foliage or root and into the strong salt solution. Affected foliage will dry out and turn brown. Roots cannot absorb water from the surrounding soil even if adequate moisture is present.” Remedies: Shovel more, salt less, use sand or calcium salts rather than sodium, and don’t pile salt-laden snow or slush around plants. “We have received soil test reports stating that the salt concentration was so high in the tested soil that it would be impossible for any plant to survive.” As a last resort, plant relatively salt-tolerant species, such as ash, honey locust, and white oak.
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Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): illustration/Carl Kock.
