A swimming pool is the heart of your backyard oasis, a place for relaxation, fun, and making memories. But the dream of a pristine, sparkling pool can quickly turn into a daily chore if it’s surrounded by the wrong plants. Constantly scooping leaves, fishing out petals, and worrying about clogged filters is nobody’s idea of a good time. The secret to a perfect swimming pool backyard isn’t just the pool itself—it’s the smart, beautiful, and low-maintenance poolside landscaping that frames it.
Choosing the right plants goes beyond simple aesthetics. It’s about creating a harmonious environment that is safe, clean, and adds value to your Pennsylvania home without adding hours of work to your weekend. This guide will walk you through the best—and worst—plants for your poolside, ensuring you can spend more time enjoying your oasis and less time maintaining it.
Why Your Plant Choices Around the Pool Matter So Much
It’s easy to get drawn in by a beautiful flower or a fast-growing tree at the local nursery, but an impulsive choice can lead to long-term headaches. The unique environment around a pool, with its treated water, reflective heat, and high foot traffic, demands careful consideration.
Here’s what can go wrong with poor plant selections:
- The Debris Dilemma: This is the most common complaint. Plants that shed constantly—think small leaves, needles, berries, or delicate flower petals—are the enemy of a clean pool. This debris not only looks messy but can clog your skimmers and filters, putting a strain on your expensive pool equipment and potentially leading to costly repairs.
- Aggressive Root Systems: Out of sight, out of mind? Not with plant roots. Some trees and shrubs have powerful, invasive root systems that can travel surprising distances underground. These roots can crack your pool deck, damage plumbing lines, and even tear through vinyl pool liners, causing catastrophic and expensive damage.
- Unwanted Guests: While we love pollinators in our gardens, attracting a swarm of bees and wasps right where you and your family are swimming is less than ideal. Certain flowering plants are insect magnets, turning your relaxing float into a stressful experience.
- Safety and Comfort: Thorny or spiky plants like roses or barberry have no place near a high-traffic pool area where people are often barefoot and in swimwear. The last thing you want is a guest getting scratched on their way to take a dip.
What Makes a Plant “Pool-Friendly” in Pennsylvania?
To avoid these problems, look for plants that share a few key characteristics. Your goal is to find tough, tidy, and well-behaved greenery that thrives in the specific conditions of a Pennsylvania swimming pool backyard.
- Low-Litter: Choose plants that don’t drop much. Evergreens are a fantastic option because they keep their foliage year-round. If you opt for a deciduous plant, select one with large leaves that are easy to rake or pick up, rather than thousands of tiny ones.
- Tolerant of Sun and Heat: A pool area is often a heat island. The sun beats down, and the water and surrounding hardscaping reflect that heat and light, creating a microclimate that can scorch delicate plants.
- Chlorine and Salt Tolerant: Splish, splash! Your plants will inevitably get hit with treated pool water. Select hardy species that won’t get chemical burns from the occasional splash of chlorine or saltwater.
- Non-Invasive Roots: Look for plants with compact, fibrous root systems that won’t go searching for water and create structural damage. Generally, smaller, slower-growing shrubs and perennials are safer bets than large, fast-growing trees.
- Suited for Pennsylvania’s Climate: This is non-negotiable. A plant must be able to survive our cold winters and humid summers. Pay attention to USDA Hardiness Zones (most of Pennsylvania falls between 5b and 7a) to ensure your investment doesn’t perish after the first frost.
Top Plant Recommendations for Pennsylvania Poolside Landscaping
Ready to build your plant list? Here are some of the best, most reliable options that check all the boxes for a beautiful, low-maintenance swimming pool backyard in Pennsylvania.
Ornamental Grasses: For Texture and Movement
Grasses are poolside landscaping superstars. They are incredibly low-maintenance, produce virtually no litter, and their gentle swaying in the breeze adds a soothing, resort-like feel.
- Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grass (Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’): Famous for its strong, upright habit, this grass won’t flop over. It creates a beautiful vertical accent with feathery plumes that appear in early summer and last through winter. It’s tidy, tough, and a favorite among landscape designers.
- Zebra Grass (Miscanthus sinensis ‘Zebrinus’): If you want a bit more visual interest, Zebra Grass is a great choice. Its green blades are marked with horizontal yellow bands. It forms a dense clump that contains itself well, preventing unwanted spreading.
- Blue Fescue (Festuca glauca): For a shorter option along borders or in rock gardens, Blue Fescue provides a striking pop of silvery-blue color. This small, clumping grass is drought-tolerant and loves the full sun of a pool area.
Evergreen Shrubs: The Year-Round Foundation
Evergreens provide structure and color all year long, which is especially important in Pennsylvania when the perennials have died back for the winter. They are the clean, green backbone of any good poolside design.
- Boxwood (Buxus species): A classic for a reason. Boxwoods are the definition of neat and tidy. Their small leaves stay on the plant, and they can be sheared into formal hedges or globes for a structured look. They have shallow, non-aggressive roots.
- Holly (Ilex species): Choose smooth-leaved varieties like Inkberry Holly (Ilex glabra) or the compact ‘Blue Prince’ Holly to avoid any prickly encounters. Hollies offer glossy deep green leaves and are exceptionally hardy.
- Dwarf Alberta Spruce (Picea glauca ‘Conica’): If you want the look of a tree without the massive size and messy needles, this is your plant. It’s a very slow-growing, dense conifer with a perfect pyramid shape that rarely needs pruning.
Hardy Perennials: For Seasonal Color
Perennials bring your poolside to life with color and texture, returning year after year. The key is choosing varieties that are more about foliage and structure than messy, high-volume blooms.
- Hostas: For the shadier spots under a pergola or umbrella, hostas are unmatched. Their lush, broad leaves come in countless shades of green, blue, and variegation. They produce a brief flower spike, but their main appeal is the clean, bold foliage. If a leaf turns yellow, it’s large and easy to remove.
- Daylilies (Hemerocallis): Specifically, reblooming varieties like ‘Stella de Oro’ are excellent pool companions. They are incredibly tough and can handle heat and drought. While they do drop flowers, each bloom only lasts a day and is large enough to be easily picked up without making a significant mess.
- Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ (Hylotelephium ‘Herbstfreude’): This succulent-like perennial is practically indestructible. It has fleshy leaves and produces large, broccoli-like flower heads in late summer that age from pink to a deep rusty red. It attracts butterflies but isn’t a major bee magnet, and it creates zero litter.
Poolside Plant Comparison Table
| Plant Name | Type | Key Benefits | Mess Level | PA Hardiness Zones |
| Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grass | Ornamental Grass | Upright, clean, adds texture & movement | Very Low | 4-9 |
| Boxwood | Evergreen Shrub | Tidy, can be shaped, non-invasive roots | Very Low | 5-9 |
| Hosta | Perennial | Great for shade, bold foliage, low maintenance | Low | 3-9 |
| Daylily ‘Stella de Oro’ | Perennial | Reblooming, drought & heat tolerant, hardy | Low | 3-9 |
| Dwarf Alberta Spruce | Evergreen Conifer | Slow-growing, neat cone shape, no mess | Very Low | 3-6 |
| Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ | Perennial | Drought-tolerant, four-season interest | Very Low | 3-9 |
Plants to AVOID Planting Near Your Pool
Just as important as knowing what to plant is knowing what not to plant. Steer clear of these common culprits to save yourself a world of trouble.
- Most Trees: Especially those with small leaves (Birch, Honeylocust), messy seed pods (Sweet Gum), fruit (Mulberry), or constant needle drop (most Pines). Large trees also have large root systems that are a threat to your pool’s integrity.
- Thorny Plants: Keep Roses, Barberry, and Hawthorns far away from the pool deck.
- Messy Flower-Droppers: Crape Myrtles, while beautiful, shed their petals constantly, creating a pink or purple film on the pool surface.
- Fruit and Berry Producers: These are a recipe for disaster, staining your concrete deck and attracting everything from ants to wasps to birds (and their droppings).
- Aggressive Spreaders: Plants like Bamboo (running varieties) or Mint can quickly take over an area and are difficult to remove.
Pro Design Tips for Your Swimming Pool Backyard
With the right plants selected, you can arrange them to create a professional, high-end look.
- Create Layers: Don’t just line plants up in a row. Place taller grasses or shrubs at the back, medium-sized perennials in the middle, and low-growing groundcovers or fescues at the front. This creates depth and visual interest.
- Use Containers: Planters and pots are your best friends in poolside landscaping. They allow you to control the soil, contain root growth, and add pops of color right on the deck. This is the perfect way to enjoy tropicals like Canna Lilies or Hibiscus during the Pennsylvania summer. You can simply move the pots to a protected location for the winter.
- Incorporate Hardscaping: The best landscapes balance greenery with structure. Use stone retaining walls, paver patios, and elegant walkways to define planting beds and keep mulch or soil from washing into the pool. This seamless integration between plants and hardscape is what creates a truly polished outdoor living space.
- Think in Groups: Plant in clusters of three, five, or seven. This odd-numbered grouping looks more natural and impactful than planting single specimens scattered around.
Your Poolside Paradise Awaits
Creating a stunning and functional swimming pool backyard is entirely achievable. The key is thoughtful planning and selecting plants that are built for the job—hardworking, clean, and beautiful additions that thrive in Pennsylvania’s climate. By focusing on low-litter evergreens, structured ornamental grasses, and tough perennials, you can craft a poolside landscape that feels like a permanent vacation.
Ready to transform your swimming pool backyard from a weekend chore into your personal paradise? A well-designed landscape is the final, crucial piece of the puzzle. The expert team at FS Landscaping Contractors has the local knowledge and design expertise to create and install the perfect poolside landscaping for your Pennsylvania home.
Contact us today to schedule a consultation and take the first step toward the beautiful, low-maintenance backyard of your dreams!