PENNYSTONE • RESOURCES • NOTEBOOK
Resources for native plant landscaping
Plant directory
Summary information on habitat and landscape culture of hundreds of species native to northeastern Pennsylvania that are commercially available.
- Woody perennials
- List includes both trees and shrubs (some species are identified as both)
- Herbaceous perennials
- Forbs (herbaceous plants that are not graminoids), excluding ferns and vines, comprise the largest list.
- Ferns and fern allies
- Pteriophytes form a foundation for many ecosystems and landscape designs.
- Grasses, sedges and rushes
- Graminoids for almost every circumstance can be found for landscapes or restorations.
- Vines
- Available vines are listed together; some are woody, some herbaceous.
- Annuals
- Almost always available only as seed, these may be useful in restorations.
- Unavailable species
- These plants, reported as Pocono natives, do not appear to be commercially available.
- Invasive species
- Information from the Pennsylvania DCNR about species you should not support, and perhaps eradicate.
Pocono ecosystems
Vegetation mapping has for decades attempted to catalog what grows where and with what associates. A thicket of identifying labels exists, varying with the resource, and almost always relies upon plots that are hopefully representative. While clearly not absolutely comprehensive, recent work provides useful clues for plant palettes in the myriad of ecosystems found in the Poconos. Wetlands are not yet included because swamps, bogs and active floodplains are not likely to be used for private landscapes.
- Index by major forest systems
- Local ecosystems are subsets of several major forest systems in the Pocono Mountains.
- Index by general characteristics
- Ridgetops, slopes, bottomlands are the keywords for sifting this index.
Regional soils
The National Resource Conservation Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture maintains an extensive database on soils, including series identification, taxonomy, characteristics, properties and capabilities, especially in the context of land management, commercial agriculture and civil engineering. Character, properties and general capabilities may be of interest to landscapers, especially in the context of sand-silt-clay and organic content, pH, drainage and potential challenges.
Two online services are available for individuals to identify the specific soil type found at their location.
- Soil guides for Carbon, Monroe, Pike and Wayne Counties
- Data for individual soil series, including where it's found, sand-silt-clay and organic content, pH, drainage and potential challenges.
- Identifying your soil
- A guide to identifying soil at a specific location and links to the necessary online services.