Pennsylvania’s landscape is varied with different quality soils and hazards meeting your garden with every new season. As Spring approaches, here’s how to plan and plant accordingly!
Clay Pennsylvania Soil
Many states have designated state birds, plants, and fish but did you know that many states also have state soil? Hazleton soil is the Pennsylvania state soil, a sandy sloan mixture made up of sand, silt, and clay. This affects how and what you can plant in your garden. Living in the Pocono Mountains, it’s likely your yard has great access to full sun. That is why we recommend beautiful flowers such as Arkansas Blue Star, Asters, and Black-Eyed Susans for beautiful spring blooms. Hazleton soil has great drainage, which suits all three of these beautiful blooms. They also prefer USDA growing zones from 3 to 9, which means they’ll be comfortable in the 6a, 6b regions of Pennsylvania from first flowering to the first frost.
Erosion-prone Pennsylvania Soil
Pennsylvania is famous for its rolling hills and mountains, which means that the soil is very prone to erosion and runoff. With its sandy sloan mixture, it’s important to plant effective foliage to prevent minor erosion all the way to major disastrous landslides. One of the best ways to accomplish this is by planting strategically with plants that put down long roots. While this usually means planting trees, there are also different foliage that puts down tough, retaining roots and looks great in a garden without the tree-growing effort.
We recommend choosing plants like creeping juniper and periwinkle for short grasses and Forsythia for a larger shrub. Both creeping juniper and periwinkle only grow to roughly 6 inches, with creeping juniper reaching at most a foot tall. Forsythia on the other hand, can grow up to six feet tall! Regardless of the size, all these shrubs are great for soil retention with their deep, strong roots and will ensure your property won’t see any erosion so long as they thrive!
Unsure which plants are best for your garden? Let the experts at Mountain Road Landscaping help you! We’ll design, plant, and maintain the best garden for your property depending on your location, soil composition, elevation, and more!
