Soil type had an important impact on the reclamation process and consequently affected the plant growth, dry matter production, ion balance and initial germination. A better salt leaching effect was found in sandy loam soil in the early period of reclamation, while the dry mass production and plant growth were relatively low and poor compared with the silt soil due to poor fertilizer and water conservation, which implied that nutrient supply and adequate soil moisture should be carefully maintained during sandy loam reclamation. Most roots were present in the 0–20 cm profile in both soils under SMP controlled conditions. Compared to the rapid reclamation process in sandy loam, higher SAR and salinity caused a lower emergence rate in silt soil for the same salinity of irrigation water. Thus, during reclamation in silt soil, suitable soil root-zone environments should be rapidly created during the plant emergence period. Moreover, the salt tolerance threshold in the root zone during the emergence period was similar in both soils, but earlier drought in sandy loam soil enhanced the effect of salinity on plant growth. The results of this study have important implications for ecological construction in different saline soils with high ECe and SAR under drip irrigation with saline water, and water and nutrient management should be developed according to the soil properties. In addition, long-term monitoring is required to determine the response of plants during the continued reclamation processes of soils