Perennials That Are Salt Water Tolerant

Daylilies add a colorful accent to the coastal garden.

Daylilies add a colorful accent to the coastal garden.

Although salt water spray can harm many plants, you can find salt tolerant perennials for your coastal yard. Some plants are highly salt tolerant, which means that they will tolerate a direct spray and can grow along the immediate coastline, according to the NorthCarolina Cooperative Extension. Moderately salt tolerant plants can handle the indirect spray found in protected beachfront yards. Plants that are slightly salt tolerant can grow near salt spray if they have shelter from a building or other plants.


Salt tolerant perennial shrubs include Spanish dagger (Yucca gloriosa), which is hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 6 through 11. It grows up to 8 feet tall and 8 feet wide, with swordlike, bluish gray or green leaves and fragrant white flowers. Drought tolerant Spanish dagger prefers partial shade and well-drained soil, and makes an excellent border or accent plant. Hardy in USDA zones 7 through 10, rosemary (Rosemarinus officinalis) has aromatic, pine-like leaves and pale blue, pink or white tubular flowers, thriving in well-drained soil and full sun. Spanish dagger and rosemary are both highly salt tolerant.


Moderately salt tolerant common yarrow (Achillea millefolium) is a flowering perennial with aromatic feathery grayish-green leaves. Hardy in USDA zones 3 through 9, it grows up to 3 feet tall and 3 feet wide, producing 3- to 5-inch-long pink, yellow or white flower heads. It grows best in full sun and well-drained soil. Depending on the variety, daylilies (Hemerocallis spp.) thrive in USDA zones 3 through 9, preferring moist, well-drained, fertile soil and partial shade. This moderately salt tolerant plant produces showy, lily-shaped flowers in a variety of colors, forming clumps up to 4 feet tall and 4 feet wide.

Ornamental Grasses

Ornamental grasses are versatile plants that can provide a backdrop, hedge or dramatic focal point in a coastal yard. For example, muhly grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris) is a highly salt tolerant perennial ornamental grass. Its graceful leaves form clumps that are 4 to 8 feet tall and as wide with pink, frothy flowers. Hardy in USDA zones 6 through 10, muhly grass prefers full sun and moist, well-drained soil.

Other Salt Tolerant Perennials

Other types of salt tolerant perennials include vines and ground covers. Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) is a moderately salt tolerant vine, hardy in USDA zones 3b through 10. It thrives in sun or shade and moist, well-drained soil. Its 4- to 8-inch-long serrated leaf blades turn red in the fall and the vine will climb as high as its trellis. With its spreading growth habit, creeping rosemary (Rosemary officinalis “Prostratus”) makes an attractive ground cover. Its dark green 2-inch leaves look and smell like pine. Highly salt tolerant, creeping rosemary grows in USDA zones 8 through 10 and prefers well-drained soil and full sun.

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