has a soil test indicated that there is any salt in the soil ....????

how will the allegedly salt ladened snow... jump the 10 feet????

are you sure they are using salt .... out here.. it is a majority of sand with some salt ... i have more problems with sand build up rather than any salt issues ....

frankly ... with no science to back me up... if there is no impact on the grass in that area.. i question how much salt there can be ... does the grass that lines your driveway.. die every winter??.. are you unable to grow anything where you snowblow what falls off your car ..... is there a 6 foot dead zone along your property line on the street???

now.. if we were talking the median of an 8 lane highway.. in the great white rust belt north .. sure.. there are most likely issues ...

i have mentioned.. once before.. how you seem to pick up on some specific aspect of ID'ing a plant.. and go to the extreme with that one variable...

so all i ask.. is how do you know that is an issue ...

as always.. trying to make you think it all out ...

ken

Totally understand, its best to challenge then to sit back and do as your told.

To answer some of the questions:

How will the allegedly salt ladened snow jump 10 feet?
My concern is the roots will grow right up to the street curb (no sidewalks). My property line goes right to the street curb. I've found salt 15' up my driveway...as the plow comes up around the bend the snow and salt comes slamming up my drive/yard.

Are you sure they are using salt?
Yes, hardcore rock salt.

Does the grass that lines your driveway.. die every winter?
No it does not, some of the grass dies off around 2' in from the street...but I've only been here 2 winters.

Is there a 6 foot dead zone along your property line on the street? - Not sure

From what I can tell the salt hasn't been an issue in the 2 winters. My thoughts exactly on the grass.
No serious issues...but it could be an issue certain years...I don't want to take that chance where the salt is used heavily and I have a tree that croaks from it.

If we're thinking the salt is not to much of an issue still need a tree suggestion based on the requirements above, excpet the salt tolerance. I don't think I have to worry about the potential 8' snow banks piling up on the root zone...

If you do a Google search under this topic, you'll turn up various listings of salt tolerant species. And searching by specific botanical name can provide more detailed information. As winter de-icing using rock salt or other salt-based products is an extremely common practice in cold winter areas of this country, it's a subject that has been studied and evaluated pretty thoroughly.

One of the issues stated frequently on this subject is that no species is completely tolerant of salt injury; even salt-tolerant trees have limits on the amount of salt they can accept before they weaken and become vulnerable to other problems.

Do you have any suggestions? I did the Google search (hence the link posted on Morton Arb, but nothing made me jump up and down...and maybe that is what I am stuck with).

To Ken's point maybe I don't have to be "too worried" about the salt...but more concerned about the tree's root restriction.

Nothing beats real people talking back and forth. I take what I get from this forum and then research further.

I had almost the same requirements in my front yard (Saint Paul, MN) and went with Autumn Splendor Buckeye. Medium size, flowers (doesn't have nearly as many nuts as standard Ohio buckeye) & great fall color, supposedly very tolerant of salt:
http://www.extension.umn.edu/distriBution/naturalresources/components/DD6989_RecTrees_NT_Deciduous_recommended.pdf

I think it has cool leaves and no significant disease issues.
Drawbacks I can think of: not super fast grower, dry summers can cause leaf scorch around the edges of leaves and may cause leaves to drop early

Good suggestion, I'll look a little further into 'Autumn Splendor'. Not sure what they mean by tolerant of deicing salts...does that mean airborne salt or saline soil?

Morton arb lists Aesculus hippocastanum as soil salt tolerate but only list Aesculus octandra as salt spray tolerate. Octandra (along with glabra and pavia) is one of Autumn Splendor's parents.

Isn't 'Autumn Splendor' supposed to have "the" most scorch resistant foilage?....or is it 'Homestead'?

They don't use soley rock salt around here... i think there are chlorides of calcium and magnesium that are better for different temps, but yes, supposedly tolerant of the junk they put on the roads. If you are in Milwaukee, you shouldn't have to worry about saline soil other than road junk (that is for areas with low rainfall or poor drainage).

You are probably right about relative tolerance to salt - hippocastanum (horse chestnut) is a European native that is a wicked popular street tree over there due to tolerance of city conditions. DON'T plant it though - they get to be over 60' tall and have nasty conker seeds (except 'baumaii' (sp) cultivar which is sterile) with painful pointy spikes. A glabra & cousins are the American version, and different ones have different tolerances, but this cultivar is supposed to be fairly tolerant (I had a A glabra maybe 5 feet from the curb at my old house, and it never had issues with salt - now the neighbor's lawn mower, that was another issue when I planted it). Autumn Splendor is also scorch resistant (I can't speak for Homestead - I am not familiar with characteristics)

Salt bits from city trucks is not the issue for salt tolerance, its the mist from passing vehicles that causes a concern, especially in conifers. Traffic in a subdivision shouldn't kick up that much. It probably isn't an issue for you.

Since I prefer conifers, my choices would be:
Somewhat slow growing (6x3 in 10 years) {{gwi:493394}}

Or for a more silver-blue sentinel look {{gwi:493395}}

tj

Here is a link that might be useful: Salt Tolerance

My picks off that linked list:

Larix
Shagbark Hickory
Catalpa
Northern Pin Oak
Taxodium
Gymnocladus

Yes...no worries on salt spray. I posted this topic as I am more concerned about soil salt tolerance.

Its tougher to find lists on soil salt tolerance.

1" of icy/snow fell yesterday, there was rock salt all over my driveway, about 5' up. This is just a salt application no plowing was done.

If I can't find anything appealing, I might wait and observe the grass a couple more winters to see if its even an issue.

I was considering Northern Pin Oak...that is listed as soil salt tolerant by the Morton Arb. I just can't tell if they tree will have a loose open habit or a more dense tightly pyrimidal.

Ken, your right...13.5' dead zone. I had an interesting conversation with the village.

Bottom line I'll have diggers hotline out here to find out where the laterals are before planting. She just said "if" they need to do work they are not responsible for the tree. I'll just make sure it won't cause problems with the latterals. Its funny how nervous they are for such a rare occurance to take place. No wonder people don't plant trees around here they probably all scared!