a prime suggestion would be a soil test ...

what is there now??? ... or is the area completely barren due to the salt???

ken

Are these areas that you salt yourself, or is it public parking of some sort? I ask, because there are ice-melt products that are formulated specifically to avoid damaging plant life. And even if it is public space, have you had plants that didn't grow well, or are you predicting problems based on location? I ask, because I live on a heavily traveled road in the snow belt of lower Michigan, where roads are sanded and salted routinely, and I've grown Zinnias, snapdragons, Rudbeckia, annual coreopsis, Verbena boniarensis, and more right up into the gravel on the shoulder of the road and not had any trouble. So, unless you have had problems, I would try what you like first, and see how they do. Good luck.

Martha

Just to make sure we don't have any gnat poo in the pepper, there's no such thing as a hardy annual. Hardy means able to survive winter in a given location, and true annuals aren't hardy anywhere. Begonias, Petunias, and Impatiens are perennials that are too tender to survive in cold locations.

we don't have any gnat poo in the pepper,

==>>> thats a new one on me ... lol ...

i took.. in this post.. hardy to mean ... strong ... grows like a weed ... doenst need care .. wont mind a bit of abuse ..... etc ...

rather than the horticultural meaning of the word hardy ... that it would winter over ..

anyway.. in this day and age ... and living in snow country ... i am just surprised anyone really uses that much salt.. that the soil would be toxic ... and i am loathe.. to allow a newb gardener ... to make such a conclusion ... without suggesting a soil test ...

if sod grass is growing there.. i would suggest there is no salt issue ...if its a barren patch of weeds.. like the edge of the road... then maybe there is a salt issue ...

anyway ... why are we planting so close to the edge of the cement .. the first thing is would do..after planting within 6 or 12 inches of the driveway.. would be to run them over.. lol ... and it also reduces the usable size of your driveway ... as usually someone who parks near an edge.. steps out into the grass ....

ken

It is absolutely correct that "Begonias, Petunias, and Impatiens are perennials that are too tender to survive in cold locations." However, although strictly speaking misapplied by the OP, 'Hardy annual' is a perfectly respectable horticultural term. I'm afraid that "True annuals aren't hardy anywhere" is simply wrong. Annuals are plants which can complete their life cycle from seed to seed at least once within a growing season and die after seeding. Hundreds of common weed species and many garden plants fulfil this definition and many of them overwinter, surviving freezing temperatures and even flowering and setting seed in mild spells. If you don't believe in hardy annuals take a look at Papaver rhoeas, Cardamine hirsuta, Stellaria media, Senecio vulgaris and on and on.

OK, Flora found some gnat poo in my pre-coffee pepper. TY for picking it out! Yes, there are winter-growing annuals. True annuals can't survive indefinitely anywhere.

Have you got a picture of this gnat poo? I am trying to visualize what it may resemble. Would it look like a monkey wrench? A fly trapped in ointment? Perhaps precipitation pouring on a parade? Or a wicket coated in adhesive?

tj

LOL! I didn't take pics this time. Next time...!

Hi there, sorry I did not respond sooner. The reason the area is salty is because it is near the road.

The area has some scraggly grass

Rhizo's gypsum suggestion is still applicable. And hopefully rainfall or melting snow will help wash the sodium chloride into the subsoil and subsequently the water table below. The snow melting plant friendly alternatives to road salt (e.g. magnesium chloride or calcium chloride) cost more unfortunately.

Plants which have their origins in seaside locations might work e.g. Armeria maritima, Glaucium flavum, Fennel, Eryngiums or plants in the Brassicaceae such as Stocks and Wallflowers.

There's a curious phenomenon along our major highways here whereby a little maritime annual, Cochlearia danica, once confined to coasts, has spread all over the country due to winter gritting.

Glad to have seen this post, as I have been pondering this problem myself about the new patio area I'm developing. So far I've only put in a portion of the brickwork and none of the plants; they're either waiting in the main garden for transplant this spring or are still in my mind's eye and/or seed packets.

However, as I knew would be the case, I've had to salt the brick patio this winter, and have wondered how much issue there would be eventually with salt buildup. Thank you DocMom for your input, making me feel that there may not be such a problem down the line as imagined, and thanks Rhizo for the tip about gypsum. Now if I want to have some areas of open ground for planting right up to the patio edge, I'll feel a little easier about it. Or I may just do what I'd thought about anyway: put groupings of potted annual plants at the patio edge, saving my perennials and other annuals for the new perimeter beds. Bring it on, Spring!