Pocono area climate reports

The National Weather Service records data that may be of interest for evaluating trends in climate when selecting plants for landscaping. Data collected by NWS since 2004, consolidated as monthly summaries and individual months of daily data.

Further reading, resources

A brief review of published materials found in the marketplace and online that may be helpful to the native plant enthusiast. Books - Reference materials worth owning, others worth finding at the library. Websites - Some sites with information sufficiently rich to merit bookmarking.

About Pennystone

The Pennystone project provides information relating to sustainable landscape practices using native species, with emphasis on the northeastern counties of Pennsylvania.

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.