# Is rock salt bad for your lawn? What UMass says, and 6 ways to cut the damage

That brown strip along the driveway every April is often salt, not winter. Here is how salt hurts lawns and shrubs, and what to do from the first storm.

Gerson's Landscaping, Framingham, MA. Updated 2026-10-31.

## The short answer

- UMass Extension says rock salt (sodium chloride) harms plants through spray and through salty snow piled on lawns and beds.
- Damage often shows up months later, in spring or even summer, on the side facing the road or walk.
- Salts without sodium, such as calcium or magnesium chloride, cost more but injure plants less.

## How salt hurts grass and shrubs

Salt in the soil holds on to water, so roots get less of it. UMass calls this physiological drought. Sodium also pushes out nutrients and hurts soil structure, so drainage and air get worse.

Salt spray from passing cars burns buds and needles. On evergreens, look for browning from the tips on the side facing the road.

## 6 ways to cut salt damage

1. Use less. Mix salt with sand for grip.
2. Aim it at the walk and driveway, not the lawn edge or the beds.
3. Don't pile salty snow on beds. Pick a spot where the melt won't run through them.
4. Near plants you care about, use a de-icer without sodium.
5. Go easy late in the season: UMass says late-winter salt does more harm than early-winter salt.
6. In spring, water deeply to rinse salt out of well-drained soil.

## Plants that handle salt, and plants that don't

UMass lists these from its salt tolerance table. Tolerance varies, so treat it as a starting point.

- More tolerant: juniper, white oak, red oak, rugosa rose, Colorado spruce.
- Sensitive: sugar maple, red maple, boxwood, eastern white pine, eastern hemlock.

> Boxwood right next to the driveway is a salt magnet. Burlap on the street side helps.

## Get on Gerson's snow list

Snow cleared with the beds and lawn edges in mind. Call or text (781) 866-0850.

## About Gerson's Landscaping

Gerson's Landscaping is a landscaping business based in Framingham, Massachusetts, owned by Gerson E. Paniagua, offering lawn care, clean-ups, mulching, snow removal, stone walls and bluestone patios. Gerson speaks English and Spanish.

## Sources

- UMass Extension, The Impact of Salts on Plants: https://www.umass.edu/agriculture-food-environment/landscape/fact-sheets/impact-of-salts-on-plants-how-to-reduce-plant-injury-from-winter-salt-applications (read 2026-10-31)
- City of Framingham, Sidewalk Plowing Information: https://framinghamma.gov/2835/Sidewalk-Plowing-Information (read 2026-10-31)