Salt Tolerant Perennials and Shrubs

Posted by Aaron Barton on Mar 4th 2023

Salt Tolerant Perennials and Shrubs

When planning a garden in Minnesota, it’s important to consider exposure to road salt. Be sure to select salt tolerant plants when planting in boulevards, along sidewalks and driveways, or other places that may be subjected to salt spray. Practice smart salting and consider using sand as an alternative solution where possible.

Full Sun (6+ Hours Direct Sun)

  • Aronia (Chokeberry)*
  • Achillea (Yarrow)
  • Alchemilla (Lady’s Mantle)
  • Allium (Ornamental Onion)
  • Arctostaphylos (Kinnikinnick/Bearberry)*
  • Armeria (Thrift)
  • Artemisia (Wormwood)
  • Asclepias (Milkweed/Butterfly Weed)
  • Betula (Birch)*
  • Bouteloua (Sideoats Grama)
  • Calamagrostis (Feather Reed Grass)
  • Campanula (Bellflower)
  • Ceanothus (New Jersey Tea/Redroot)*
  • Clethra (Summersweet)*
  • Cotinus (Smokebush/Smoketree)*
  • Cotoneaster (Creeping Cotoneaster)*
  • Dalea (Prairie Clover)
  • Delosperma (Ice Plant)
  • Dianthus (Pinks)
  • Echinops (Globe Thistle)
  • Eragrostis (Purple Love Grass)
  • Eryngium (Sea Holly)
  • Euphorbia (Cushion Spurge)
  • Eutrochium (Joe Pye Weed)
  • Festuca (Fescue)
  • Forsythia (Goldenbells)*
  • Fragaria virginiana (Wild Strawberry)
  • Gaillardia (Blanket Flower)
  • Ginkgo (Maidenhair Tree)*
  • Gleditsia (Honey Locust)*
  • Hamamelis (Witch Hazel)*
  • Hemerocallis (Daylily)
  • Iberis (Candytuft)
  • Iris (Bearded/Northern Blue Flag Iris)
  • Juniperus spp. (Juniper)*
  • Lewisia (Siskiyou Lewisia/Bitterroot)
  • Microbiota (Siberian/Russian Cypress)*
  • Nepeta (Catmint)
  • Opuntia (Prickly Pear)
  • Paeonia (Peony)
  • Panicum (Switchgrass)
  • Penstemon (Beardtongue)
  • Perovskia (Russian Sage)
  • Phlox (Garden/Creeping Phlox)
  • Physotegia (Obedient Plant/False Dragon Head)
  • Pinus mugo (Mugo Pine)*
  • Potentilla (Cinquefoil)*
  • Prunella (Selfheal/Heal-All)
  • Pycnanthemum (Mountain Mint)
  • Quercus bicolor (Swamp White/Bicolor Oak)*
  • Ratibida (Prairie/Gray-Headed Coneflower)
  • Rudbeckia (Black-Eyed Susan)
  • Salvia (Woodland/Meadow Sage)
  • Rhus (Fragrant/Staghorn Sumac)*
  • Schizachyrium (Little Bluestem)
  • Sedum (Stonecrop)
  • Sempervivum (Hen and Chicks)
  • Silphium (Cup Plant)
  • Solidago (Goldenrod)
  • Sorghastrum (Yellow Prairie Grass)
  • Spiraea (Spirea)*
  • Sporobolus (Prairie Dropseed)
  • Symphoricarpos (Snowberry)*
  • Syringa (Lilac)*
  • Thymus (Creeping Thyme)
  • Ulmus (Elm)*
  • Viburnum*
  • Vitis (Grapevine)
  • Yucca (Adam’s Needle)
  • Zizia (Golden Alexander)

Note: Many of these plants will grow in part sun exposure but will bloom best in full sun.

* Woody tree or shrub

Part Sun/Shade (0-6 Hours Direct Sun)

  • Aquilegia (Columbine)
  • Astilbe (False Goatsbeard)
  • Carex (Sedge)
  • Chasmanthium (Northern Sea Oats)
  • Diervilla (Northern Bush Honeysuckle)*
  • Eurybia (Large-Leaved Aster)
  • Heuchera (Coral Bells)
  • Hosta (Plantain Lily)
  • Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Virginia Creeper)
  • Taxus (Yew)*

 Note: Many of these plants will grow in shady conditions but will bloom best in part sun.

* Woody tree or shrub

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