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.
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 called “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 – flowers from a plant to encourage rebloom, prevent self-seeding, or simply to keep plants looking tidy.
Foliage: Plants, trees, or shrubs that lose their leaves in fall 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 “real grow” 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 are allowed to 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”.
