Clear The Way! De-Icing with Care

With the bone-chilling temperatures and icy conditions of winter, we are often asked what products we recommend to melt ice or improve traction on stoops, steps, walkways and drives. Many of the items on store shelves are harmful to concrete, mortared areas, pets and the environment.

Sodium chloride, commonly known as rock salt is inexpensive, readily available and works at temperatures as low as 20 degrees Fahrenheit. However, it is the most harmful de-icer to plants and animal paws. Potassium Chloride, which is also used in fertilizers, will not harm plants but works more slowly than rock salt. Both are harmful to concrete, mortared areas and other natural products such as bluestone. Calcium chloride melts faster than the others, works down to 5 degrees Fahrenheit and is one of the least harmful salts to concrete, but is damaging to plants. One of the newer products on the market is magnesium chloride. This is your best bet if you want a de-icer that works quickly, won’t harm your concrete and paved areas, and is effective to 13 degrees below zero. It is important to remember to use each of these products as directed.

Environmentally friendly skid-proofing agents such as sawdust, peanut hulls, ground bark, ashes, gravel and sand can be used in conjunction with de-icers. They don’t dissolve in water and can be swept up for re-use, or swept into the lawn or planting beds without harm to plants. Owners of pets are particularly concerned about the toxicity of de-icers and their affect on sensitive paws. Pet-friendly products such as Safe Paw is considered to be pet, child and environmentally safe. This and similar products are chloride-free so it won’t harm your concrete, paved areas, lawns or plants.

In general, don’t over-apply salts. Used in excess, they may harm your plants and can damage concrete, mortared areas and natural stone products. Avoid shoveling snow from salted walks onto plants and know the ingredients in the de-icer you buy. Use gypsum calcium sulfate for areas where salt accumulation is heavy in the fall and the following spring. Irrigate well in order to wash away the salt and decrease the potential damage to your planting beds. Finally, keep salt away from sensitive plants such as azaleas, crabapples, dogwoods, forsythias, hollies, maples, rhododendrons, and yews.

Case Study: A Nantucket Style Retreat

Our clients enjoyed everything about their new home– except the back yard, which was exposed to the street, had only grass, a dull, poured concrete patio installed by the home’s contractor, consistently wet soil, and a large, unsightly catchbasin in the lawn. The wide, poured concrete driveway also looked too plain next to the intricately crafted Nantucket Shingle Style house. Our clients wished for a garden oasis, with room to entertain outdoors, space for their children to play, an outdoor grill and a charming entrance to the space from the driveway.

To harmonize both home and garden, our designer created a dynamic design which integrated the existing red brick on the house into every facet of the new hardscaping: the built-in grill, the curved seatwall, the walls flanking a new cedar gate and arbor, and the existing poured concrete driveway. Warm, natural bluestone replaced the dull concrete patio, and bluestone coping on the walls also lend a substantial air to the space.

A colorful, moisture-loving plant palette, which includes Swamp White Oak, Pinky Winky Hydrangea, Goatsbeard and Astilbe, thrives in the garden’s moist soil. Low-voltage landscape lighting, including an Arts & Crafts light fixture over the arbor, were also added, creating a delightful space that is enjoyed day or night.