JESSICA DAMIANO The Associated Press
If you browse through seed catalogs or plant care manuals, you will likely come across at least some descriptions that elude you. So here’s a cheat sheet to help you navigate through the offerings — and maybe impress your gardening friends.
aerate: Poke holes in compacted soil with a garden fork or aerator to facilitate oxygen flow to plant roots.
Modification: Organic matter, such as compost or manure, added to soil to improve its fertility, drainage, water retention, or structure.
Yearly: A plant that completes its life cycle in one year, regardless of the climate.
Bare root: Plants, typically roses, trees and shrubs, dug out of the ground and sold without soil or containers.
Every two years: A plant that completes its life cycle in two years.
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Screwing: Premature flowering of crops such as lettuce and turnips, making them bitter or otherwise reducing their quality.
Botanical name: The name assigned to a plant using Latin terminology developed by the Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus in the 17th century. Using a plant’s botanical name (also known as its “scientific name”) eliminates the likelihood of confusion with other plants.
Transmission: Spread seeds over a large area, either by hand or by machine, rather than planting in rows.
Bell jar: A traditional bell-shaped item placed over plants to protect them from insect or frost damage.
cold frame: An enclosure placed around plants to create a greenhouse effect and extend the growing season.
Common names: A nickname used in certain counties or geographical regions to describe a plant. Since different plants can share a common name – and a plant can have several – using them can confuse gardeners.
companion planting: Grouping certain plants based on the benefits they offer each other. These benefits can include attracting pollinators, deterring pests, or serving as a living trellis.
Deadhead: The practice of removing spent – or dead – blooms from a plant to encourage rebloom, prevent self-seeding, or simply to keep plants looking clean.
Leaves: Plants, trees or shrubs that lose their leaves in autumn or winter.
Direct sow: Plant seeds directly in the garden instead of starting them in containers indoors and transplanting them outdoors later.
Volatile: A plant that emerges and fades relatively quickly, often in spring.
periwinkle: Plants, trees or shrubs that do not lose their leaves in autumn or winter but remain green all year round.
leaf feeding: Apply liquid fertilizer directly to the foliage instead of the soil.
Germination: The initial growth of a sprout from a seed.
Toughen up: The process of gradually acclimating a plant to a different, usually harsher, climate, e.g. B. outdoors than indoors to increase their resilience.
Heirloom: A plant in its original form that has not been crossed or cross-pollinated with any other species or cultivar. Heirloom seeds reliably produce plants that “grow real” or have the same characteristics as the plants they were collected from.
Hill: The practice of heaping up soil against new above-ground growth, as is done with potato plants.
Hybrid: A variety of plant that has been intentionally cultivated in a controlled environment, usually by cross-pollination, to acquire new, desirable traits such as flower color, disease resistance, fragrance, size, hardiness, flavor or shelf life, among others.
Naturalize: The practice of scattering seeds or bulbs so that they have either spread naturally or in areas such as the lawn where they can spread without limit.
Organic Material: Non-synthetic material, such as decomposed plants and animals, manure, compost, and leaf soil, used to improve soil fertility, structure, and other properties.
Shrub: Systems with a life cycle of more than two years. Perennials can die back to the ground over winter and return year after year or remain evergreen throughout their lifespan.
PH value: In gardening, the pH scale determines the acidity or alkalinity of soil, compost, and water. The lower the reading, the more acidic the soil; The higher the value, the more alkaline. A score of 7.0 is considered neutral.
Pinch: The practice of using the thumb and forefinger to remove small shoots and stems, usually to encourage the growth of side shoots.
scarification: Scratching, cutting, nicking, or otherwise slightly damaging the hard surface of a seed to facilitate germination.
self-sowing: A term used to describe plants that spread by dropping seeds on the ground around them. These seeds germinate, take root and grow into other plants. Also called “self-seeding”.
side dress: To sprinkle a line of granular, powdered or pelleted fertilizer (or other supplements) along a line of plants rather than incorporating it into the soil or planting hole.
layering: The process of exposing seeds or bulbs to cold temperatures, typically in a refrigerator or freezer, to mimic the outdoor winter conditions necessary for successful spring germination.
Top dress: To apply fertilizer or additives such as compost or manure directly to the soil above and around plants.
Wet feet: Wet roots, usually resulting from poorly drained or oversaturated soil.
Xeriscaping: The use of drought-tolerant plants in the landscape for water protection. Also called “waterwise gardening”.
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