Planting the Hellstrip (Parking Strip)

Know what you're up against (and check the rules)

The parking strip — hellstrip, boulevard, tree lawn, verge — takes abuse from every direction: deicing salt in winter, soil compacted by decades of foot traffic and parked cars, heat radiating off concrete and asphalt, dogs, and people stepping across it. Plants that merely 'tolerate poor conditions' often aren't enough; you want genuinely tough, drought- and salt-tolerant species.

Before planting, check your local ordinance. The strip is usually city right-of-way, and many municipalities limit plant height for driver and pedestrian sightlines — for example, some cities cap boulevard plantings around 36 inches, with stricter limits near intersections, alleys, and driveways. Keeping plants low (roughly under knee-to-waist height, and lower near corners) is both a safety and usually a legal requirement.

Skip the fertilizer. Hellstrip natives and tough perennials do fine in lean soil, and lush, over-fed growth is more prone to flopping into the walkway and street.

Choose salt-tolerant plants that die back

The single best strategy against winter road salt is to plant salt-tolerant perennials that die back to the ground each year, so the salt-exposed top growth is gone by spring rather than accumulating damage on woody stems and evergreen leaves.

Extension-listed salt-tolerant perennials include tickseed (coreopsis), blanket flower (gaillardia), yarrow, butterfly weed, cranesbill geranium, daylily, coral bells, stonecrops (sedum), New England aster, obedient plant, and Joe Pye weed. Salt-tolerant annuals for color include zinnia, moss rose, calendula, and petunia. For low, spreading cover on a hot, dry strip, see our list of drought-tolerant groundcovers for full sun.

Avoid planting evergreens where deicing salt is used — salt spray and soil salt readily brown and kill needles and broadleaf evergreen foliage that stays exposed all winter.

Set woody plants back from the salt

If you do want a small tree or shrub in or near the strip, distance is your best defense against salt. Extension guidance is to plant trees and shrubs at least 3 feet from driveways and walks where deicing salts are applied, and at least 7 feet from roadways where salt spray blows off passing plows and traffic.

Salt harms plants two ways: airborne spray desiccates buds and leaves, and salt in the soil binds water and blocks nutrient uptake, mimicking drought and causing leaf-edge browning, wilting, and stunting. Improving the soil with organic matter and, where salt has built up, flushing the bed with spring rain or irrigation both help the planting recover.

Sources

Reviewed 2026-07-18. We cite university Extension, government, and established horticultural sources — and never invent pesticide rates or dangerous treatments.

• University of Minnesota Extension — The effects of deicing salts on landscapes — Along sidewalks, driveways, and streets where deicing salts are used, choose salt-tolerant plants that die back each year; plant trees and shrubs at least 3 feet from driveways and walks where deicing salts are applied and at least 7 feet from roadways where salt spray may occur; do not plant evergreens along surfaces where deicing salts are used because salt can kill needles.
• Penn State Extension — Minimize Deicer Damage with Salt-Tolerant Plants — Salt spray desiccates leaves and buds while soil salt binds water and blocks nutrient uptake, causing leaf-edge browning, wilting, and stunted growth; salt-tolerant perennials include tickseed, blanket flower, yarrow, candytuft, butterfly weed, cranesbill geranium, plantain lily, daylily, coral bells, stonecrops, New England asters, obedient plant, and Joe Pye weed; salt-tolerant annuals include zinnias, moss rose, calendula, and petunias.

Keep going