Hello Everyone,
I am new to gardening and Park Seed. I hear gardening lingo everyday and have no clue what the some of the words mean. I usually ask Anita for help, but sometimes I need a quick reference. I found a little dictionary of gardening terms and thought it would be nice to share with other brown thumbs! Enjoy and stay tuned because any new gardening word I learn will be added to the glossary.
Digging for Knowledge,
~Nadia
AAS
All American Selection. These are flower and vegetable varieties that have been grown and tested throughout the US and proven themselves to do well in all parts of the country.
Acidic Soil
A soil that has a pH below 7, typical of clay soils. Azaleas, camellias, dogwoods and roses like acidic soils; turns hydrangeas blue; most plants like slightly acidic soil.
Alkaline Soil
A soil that has a pH of 7 or higher.
Annual Plant
A plant living one year or less, usually planted in the spring after the last frost. During this time, the plant grows, blooms, produces seeds, and dies. Since they only grow one season, they are not zoned. They will grow anywhere the proper growing conditions exist. If you see a plant or seed in the catalog with a zone listed, it is safe to assume that it is a perennial or biennial.
Balled & Burlaped
The roots of the plant have soil attached and are held in place with burlap or some other material.
Bare Root
The roots of the plant are bare, with no soil.
Biennial
Of two seasons duration, from germination to maturity and death, usually developing vegetative growth the first year and flowering, fruiting, and dying the second year. Biennials need exposure to winter temperatures to trigger flowering or fruit production the second year.
Bulb
A resting stage of a plant that is usually formed underground and consists of a short stem base bearing one or more buds enclosed in fleshy leaves and buds (tulip, daffodil, etc).
Chill Hour Req.
Temperatures below 40 F. Blueberries, peaches, apples and many other fruit-bearing plants must be exposed to these cold temperatures in order to flower and produce fruit the following season. Chill hour requirements can vary from 150 to 700-800 hours.
Corm
A rounded, thick modified underground stem base bearing membranous or scaly leaves and buds (gladiolus, crocus, etc).
Crown
The base of the plant, where the stem and root meet.
C.V.
Cultivated Variety (cultivar).
Deadheading
Removing the dead blossoms. If a plant is termed “self cleaning," the blossoms fall off on their own. Deadheading usually extends the blooming season.
Deciduous
A plant that loses its leaves seasonally, usually in the fall.
Determinate
The growth of a plant stops at a certain height (usually in reference to tomatoes).
Dormancy
A period in the life cycle of a plant where it is “asleep” and not actively growing. Dormancy is brought about by cool temperatures and shorter day length. This is the opportune time transplant or prune most plants.
Evergreen
A plant that stays green year-round.
Falls
The lower petals of an iris bloom.
Floriferous
Bearing flowers/blooming freely.
Germination
The sprouting of a seed and the commencement of growth. Also used to describe the starting of plants from seeds.
Grafted Plant
The top (desirable) part of the plant is grafted onto rootstock, usually of a hardier or less rare plant (used mainly with roses and/or standard varieties).
Heirloom Seed
Mostly open-pollinated seed that have been planted and passed down for generations. Most lack any disease resistance.
Herbaceous
A plant that dies back to the ground in winter and returns again in the spring.
Herbicide
A chemical used to destroy undesirable plants and vegetation.
Hybrid Seed
The result of cross-pollination of parents that differ in size, color, taste, or other traits. For example, you are a hybrid, having traits from both parents. Seeds from hybrid plants cannot be saved and used again, as they will revert back to one of the parents.
Indeterminate
The plant continues growing until pinched or killed by frost (opposite of determinate). These plants usually require staking.
Innoculant
A species-specific bacteria that forms nodules on the roots of legumes (beans, peas, vetch) that enable these plants to make their own nitrogen. Without these bacteria in the soil, no nitrogen fixation occurs, and the nitrogen must be supplied through the use of complete fertilizer.
Organic Seed
A seed that has been grown and harvested without being exposed to any inorganic chemicals, fertilizers, hormones, etc.
Pelleted Seed
Small seed, such as petunias or pentas, that have been coated with an inert material such as clay to make them easier to handle. The mud will dissolve away when it becomes wet.
Perennial
A plant that lives for three or more seasons. Perennials may not bloom the first season planted, especially ones that are shipped bareroot. We do not guarantee that our perennials will bloom the first year.
Repeat Bloomers
Usually go through short periods of time without flowering, but after this short period will bloom off and on until the end of the season. Some plants (roses, clematis) may bloom in the spring and repeat in the fall.
Rhizome
A somewhat elongated, usually horizontal subterranean plant stem that is often thickened by deposits of reserved food material that produces shoots above and below the roots (bearded iris).
Rootstock
Root system of a more common or hardy variety that is used to graft a more desirable variety onto, usually roses and/or standard forms.
Rose Hips
The seedpod that develops on a rose bush after the bloom fades. These come in different shapes, sizes, and colors and not all roses produce them.
Self-Pollinating
Plants that do not require pollen from another plant in order to produce fruit.
Semi-Evergreen
A plant that drops its leaves in cold areas but keeps at least some of them in milder zones (typically zones 7~11).
Standard
A shrub or herb grown with an erect main stem so that it forms or resembles a tree.
Sucker
Undesirable growth coming from the rootstock of a grafted plant.
Treated Seed
Seed that have been treated with an insecticide or fungicide to aid in preventing soil insects or disease from destroying the seed prior to germination.
Tuber
A short, fleshy, usually underground stem bearing minute scaly leaves, each of which bears a bud in its axil and is potentially able to produce a new plant (iris potato, caladium, tuberose begonia).