Growing conditions

Road salt injury

Deicing salt hurts trees two ways: spray from passing traffic burns needles and buds, and salty meltwater in the soil dries roots out and builds up sodium in the soil. Damage is worst nearest the road.

Signs

Browning from the needle tips back on the side facing a road, driveway or salted sidewalk.
Damage worst low down and closest to the pavement; buds dead on that side.
On broadleaf trees, scorched leaf edges and dieback near the road in summer.

What favors it

Heavy deicing salt on nearby roads and walks, plowed snow piled over roots, and salt-sensitive species.

Prevention

Use less salt: shovel first, salt only what is left, and mix salt with sand.
Pile salty snow away from trees and beds.
Screen roadside evergreens with burlap on the road side for the winter.

Crops it shows up on

Evergreens & conifers (pine, spruce, juniper); Shade & ornamental trees; Roses & ornamentals.

Often confused with

Growing conditionsWinter burn of evergreens Growing conditionsLeaf scorch and drought stress NutrientFertilizer burn (high salts)

Sources

Salt or Fertilizer Damage on TreesUniversity of Maryland Extension
What are the symptoms of deicing salt injury to trees and shrubs?Iowa State University Extension
Protecting Trees and Shrubs in WinterIowa State University Extension

Why →

Treatment by crop

Cultural, biological and chemical options in the order to use them, and notes written for each crop.

Identification is free. Treatment is on the Home and Pro plans.

Open in the key See plans

Look the plant over, leaf undersides included. Are insects, mites, slugs, eggs, webbing or droppings on it?
No, only damage or discoloration
Where is the problem?
A tree or shrub
Which part of the tree or shrub shows the problem?
Needles of a pine, spruce, fir, juniper or arborvitae
What is happening to the needles?
Browning on one side of the tree, in late winter or spring
Which side is brown?
The side facing a road, driveway or sidewalk that gets salted

Not a match? Start the key or describe what you see.

More from university Extension: search Extension pages on road salt injury, or find a plant diagnostic lab through your state's Extension.

Road salt injury

Signs

What favors it

Prevention

Crops it shows up on

Often confused with

Sources

Questions in the key that lead here

Other growing conditions