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Glossary of Horticulture Terms
Abscission - A natural dropping of leaves, flowers and other plant parts.
Acid soil - Soils with a pH below 7.0 Acid soils can cause problems when their pH IS BELOW 5.5
Aeration - To increase the amount of air space in the soil by tilling or otherwise loosening the soil.
Alkakine soil - Soil with a pH above 7.0 Alkaline soils slow the growth of many plants when their pH is above 8.0
Axil - The location on a stem between the upper surface of a leaf or leafstalk and the stem from which it is growing.
Axilary buds - Buds that form in leaf axils.
Biennial plants - A plant that grows, flowers, produces seeds or fruit, and dies in two years. Some herbacous flowers and vegetables are biennial. Most biennial plants produce foliage the first year and bloom the second year.
Cambium - A thin ring of tissue within the stem, branch, and trunk that continually forms nutrient and water-conducting vessels.
Chlorophyll - The green pigment that is necessary for photosynthesis.
Chlorosis - Yellowing of foliage due to a loss or breakdown of chlorophyll. Chlorosis may result from disease or infestation, poor growing conditions, or lack of nutrients.
Complete fertilizer - A fertilizer containing nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, the three nutrients in which plants are most commonly deficient.
Conifer - Woody trees and shrubs that produce cones. Common conifers include pines, firs, spruce, juniper, redwood and hemlocks.
Corm - A short, solid, enlarged, underground stem from which roots grow. Corms are food-storage organs. They contain one bud that will produce a new plant.
Dead-heading - The removal of old blossoms to encourage continued blooming or to improve the appearance of the plant.
Deciduous - Plants that shed all their leaves annually, usually in the fall.
Desiccation - Dehydration or loss of water.
Dormant - A state of rest and reduced metabolic activity in which plant tissues remain alive but do not grow.
Dormant oil - Oil sprayed on deciduous trees while they are dormant. Dormant oils are used to kill overwintering insects or insect eggs on plant bark.\
Espalier - To train a plant along a railing or trellis so that the plant grows against the rail or trellis.
Evergreen - A plant that retains all or most of it's foliage throughout the year.
Fungicide - A chemical that kills fungi or prevents them from infecting healthy plant tissue.
Girdle - Encircling of plant roots, stems, trunks or branches resulting in a constriction of the plant part, or a reduction of water and nutrient flow through the girdled plant part.
Graft - To unite a stem or bud of one plant to stem or root of another plant .
Hardening off - The process of plant adjustment to cold temperatures.
Hardiness - The ability of a plant to withstand cold temperatures.
Herbaceous - Plants that are mainly soft and succulent, forming little or no woody tissue.
Herbicide - A chemical that kills or retards plant growth. Herbicides may kill the entire plant; or they may kill only the aboveground plant parts, leaving the roots alive.
Internode - The section of stem between two nodes.
Larva - An immature stage through which some types of insects must pass before developing into adults. Caterpillars are the larvae of moths and butterflies, and grubs are the larvae of beetles. Larvae are typically wormlike in appearance.
Lateral bud - A bud forming along the side of a stem or branch rather than at the end.
Leaching - The removal of salts and soluble minerals from the soil by flushing the soil with water.
Macronutrients - Nutrients required by plants for normal growth. Macronutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are needed in large quantities by most plants.
Microclimate - The enviroment immediately surrounding a plant; very localized climate conditions. Many different microclimates may occur at the same time in different areas of a graden.
Micronutrients - Nutrients required by plants for normal growth. Micronutrients such as iron, zinc, and manganese are needed in small quantities by most plants.
| Mites - A group of tiny animals related to spiders, many of which feed on plants. |
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Mulch - A layer of organic or inorganic material on the soil surface. Mulches help to moderate the temperature of the soil surface, reduce loss of moisture from the soil surface, suppress weed growth, and reduce run-off.
Organic matter - A substance derived from plant or animal material.
Pathogen - An organism capable of causing a disease. ( such as fungus, bacterium, or virus)
Peat - Partially degraded vegetable matter found in marshy areas. Peat is commonly used as asoil amendment.
Perennial plant - A plant that lives for more than 2 years, often living for many years. Almost all woody plants and many herbaceous plants are perennials.
Pesticide - A chemical used to kill an organism considered a pest.
Petiole - A stalk that attaches the leaf to the stem; a leafstalk.
pH - A measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a substance; a measure of the relative concentration of hydrogen ions and hydroxyl ions.
Phloem - Nutrient-conducting vessels found throughout the plant. Phloem vessels transport nutrients produced in the foliage down through the stems, branches, or trunk to the roots.
Photosynthesis - The process by which plants use the sun's light to produce food (carbohydrates).
Propogation - Means of reproducing plants, such as by seeds, cutting , budding or grafting.
Runners - Aboveground, trailing stems that form roots at their nodes when they make contact with moist soil.
Slow-release fertilizer - Fertilizers that release their nutrients slowly and evenly, over a long period of time
Soluble fertilizers - Fertilizers that dissolve easily in water and are immediately available for plant use.
Stomates - Tiny pores located mainly on the underside of leaves. Oxygen, carbon dioxide, water vapor, and other gases move in and out of the leaf through these pores.
Terminal buds - A bud at the end of a stem or branch
Transperation - Evaporation of water from plant tissue to the atmosphere. Transpiration occurs mainly through the stomates in the leaves.
Xylem - Water-conducting vessels found throughout the plant. Xylem vessels transport water and minerals from the roots upward through the plant.
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