Salt can wreak havoc on landscaping and gardening efforts in southwest Florida, especially in beach and coastal communities. Fortunately, there are plenty of salt-tolerant plants that don’t mind a bit of spiciness in the air or soil, though their overall tolerances can vary. Which ones will thrive in your yard?
How Salt Affects Plants
Salt can impact plants in different ways, depending on their overall health, natural salt tolerances, the salt concentration they are exposed to, and how they may be exposed to the salt. For example, there is a difference between an occasional salty spray in the air and a storm surge flood or regular inlet tidal changes.
Plants may show salt stress through burn-like lesions on foliage, generally dry appearance, damage to tender roots, dieback, browning, or stunted growth. These signs can also indicate other diseases or pests, but a soil test would be a good step to see if salty soil is a concern. Of course, a beachfront landscape or yard on a coastal inlet is almost certain to have some salt impact, and choosing salt-tolerant plants is a great way to keep your yard looking great, even under such stressful conditions.
Salt-Tolerant Plants for Southwest Florida
Many plants of all types – trees, shrubs, flowers, vines, and grasses – can be salt tolerant and thrive in salty yards. Any landscape within one-eighth of a mile of the coast or a large inlet is a prime candidate for salt-tolerant plants, particularly in flood zones.
Trees can anchor the landscape, serving as centerpieces or focal points and providing shade. In salt-prone regions, more salt-tolerant trees include live oak, southern red cedar, mangrove, Magnolia, native cabbage palms, and saw palmettos.
Hedges and shrubs are great choices for a protective screen or privacy. Different types of like hibiscus, fire bush, plumeria, lantana, saltbush, yucca, prickly pear, sea lavender, juniper, and wax myrtle are all salt-tolerant shrubs, though their overall heights can vary.
Likewise, vines can also provide a great screen if a fence, arbor, trellis, or other support structure is available for vertical growth. Otherwise, they may spread as a groundcover and can be an alternative to turf grasses in salty areas. Railroad vine, sky-blue cluster vine, cat’s claw, Bougainvillea, and coral honeysuckle are all salt-tolerant vine options, though several different species of morning glory vines can be similarly resistant to the effects of salt.
If ornamental grass is preferred, choices such as saltmeadow cordgrass and smooth cordgrass are great for salty areas, as are coastal favorites like sea oats. If planted in thick clusters, ornamental grasses can also have some low screening benefits, though they don’t typically grow tall enough for an actual privacy screen.
Nothing beats flowers for a touch of color in the yard or landscape, and there are lovely and colorful salt-tolerant flowers. Indian blanket flower provides a warm palette of red, orange, and yellow, while beach verbena is a pretty pop of purple. Beach sunflower is the classic brown-and-yellow bloom favored for its nostalgic sunniness, and tropical milkweed is red, orange, and yellow. Lantana is one of the most colorful options for salt-tolerant flowers and comes in shades of pink, yellow, red, orange, purple, and white.
These are just a few salt-tolerant plants that can work well in a southwest Florida landscape. Stop by Driftwood for updated options and new choices in different seasons.
Using Salt-Tolerant Plants in Your Landscape
No matter which salt-tolerant plants you choose, you can use them to great effect in your landscape. Ground covers, vines, grasses, and flowers can help stabilize dunes and minimize erosion, while larger shrubs and trees provide windbreaks and privacy screens. The tallest trees can also eventually grow to be amazing shade. Shrubs and flowers also add color and texture to the yard, helping personalize it to your own style without sacrificing the quality of healthy, vibrant plants.
As with any plants, however, select ones that will thrive in your soil quality and sunlight levels and provide the proper support, watering, wind protection, frost protection, fertilization, pest control, and other resources each plant may need throughout the year. With appropriate care, salt-tolerant plants can give you many years of enjoyment, even in more challenging landscaping conditions.
