how does winter salt affect landscape?

[RobertN]

In another part of this forum, there was mention of salting driveways. We get little to no snow here, so I am unfamiliar with this.

In the long term, how does this affect your landscaping and trees? I would assume it would be detrimental, but its use is pretty widespread from what I can gather.

Is there anyone who uses salt for winter ice that could comment? Just curious how the landscapers in those climates deal with this

 

[hwp]

In our climate we are above and below the frezing point for most of the winter. This means that we get a lot of ice from melting snow. I use about a cubic metre of salt and a cubic metre of sand/salt mix a year on my 125 metre driveway and yes it does cause problems for the trees and the flower beds, but that is a trade-off that has to be dealt with. In the signature picture below, the black box on the rear of my tractor is a salt spreader.

 

[Inspector507]

Not a landscaper, but the State uses salt on our road, then plows, throwing all the salt/snow in the yard. It kills the grass real good and lets the weeds grow. I do use SOME salt on the gravel drive and it discourages the grass from growing there as well /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[_RaT_]

Robert, when I built some homes in Maine, I was more amazed at how detrimental it was on their cars. So much so they had winter cars and summer cars. I was there in 1986 and drove my great old 1963 GMC pickup. Folks wondered how such an old vehicle could be so rust free. The landscape however seemed to fair OK. Rat...

 

[MossRoad]

I like to use UREA instead of salt. It is good down to 15 degrees and we are rarely below that for very many days. It is also 46-0-0 fertilizer. Pretty much all Nitrogen. The lawn is nice and green near the driveway in the spring. Also, since it doesn't contain any salts, it doesn't damage rebar in concrete.

I use it on the lawn in the summer, too, for a quick green up. I can get it for around $10-12 dollars a 50# bag.

 

[JDgreen227]

I have too much good concrete and decking material to even consider using salt, the county plow trucks spray the stuff everywhere and the vegetation by the road is badly stunted.
Salt kills grass, pollutes groundwater, rusts vehicles and is harmful to concrete, shoe leather, etc.

We use Oil-Dri to improve traction on ice and snow, it does not harm anything and although it won't melt ice, who actually NEEDS to melt the ice on their driveway or sidewalks? Just as long as I don't slip, that's all that matters.

 

[_RaT_]

Are you sure about UREA not damaging rebar? It is very tough on ferrous steel. I can see where the plants would be happy though providing it not be excessive.

 

[thcri]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Are you sure about UREA not damaging rebar? It is very tough on ferrous steel. I can see where the plants would be happy though providing it not be excessive. )</font>

From my experience Salt or UREA is hard on concrete. I use to work in a fertilizer plant and where ever the UREA was the concrete was bad, flaked all over the place. Just my experience.

My concrete driveway in spots is flaking from the salt that is put on the roads collecting on our vehicles and then dropping off on the driveway. Can't do much about it.

murph

 

[MossRoad]

Well, if I believe the manufacturer, yes. They claim it is not damaging to the steel rebar.

I've damaged concrete with salts. It flakes all over the place. I've used urea on our sidewalks and steps for 8 years with no apparent damage. Could have something to do with the way the concrete was sealed, though.

 

[Boondox]

Toward the end of winter when the weather is characterized by repeated freeze/thaw cycles our driveway ices up pretty badly. Unfortunately, it's bordered by my wife's iris patch, so using salt was never an option for me. A couple of summers ago I sloped the driveway such that the part beyond her flowers sloped downhill; that made all the runoff from the garage roof and the upper meadow continue downhill instead of following the driveway. And where she has flowers, I sloped it the other way, so the side of the driveway furthest from the house basically turns into a sea of ice in late winter and early spring. I could use salt there, but instead on sunny days I broadcast dark pea gravel (looks like basalt) which heats up in the sunlight and melts partway into the ice. When it refreezes at night I get a nice textured surface to walk or drive across. Tried sand, but all the dogs tracked it into the house which made the wife unhappy. And when the wife is unhappy...
/forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif
Pete