| Acidic Soil | Soil with a pH level below 7. |
| Alkaline Soil | Soil with a pH level above 7 (most soils in our area). |
| Annual | Plants that germinate, grow, flower, set seed, and die in less than one year. |
| Anther | A flower. |
| Apical Bud | A terminal bud that is produced at the end of a shoot. |
| Aril | An extra covering of the seed of some plants outside the true seed coats. |
| Axil | The inner angle between a leaf and the stem from which it springs. |
| Balled & Burlapped (B&B) | Plants grown in the ground and then dug either by hand or tree spade with the root ball (including the undisturbed surrounding soil) intact. The root ball is then bound in burlap or a similar mesh fabric. A wire basket may or may not be used. |
| Balled & Potted (B&P) | Plants dug with a ball of earth and then placed in a container in lieu of burlapping. |
| Bare-Root (B.R.) | Plants harvested from the soil or growing medium with the soil removed. |
| Biennial | Plants with two-year lefecycles. The 1st year they grow from seed into leafy but non-blooming plants. They live through the winter and flower, set seed, and die the following year. (Usually sold during the second year so they bloom.) |
| Bipinnately Compound Lea | The leaflets are twice divided. |
| Blanching | The process of blocking light from parts of certain vegetables to keep them paler in color or milder in flavor or both. Cauliflower is blanched by tying the outer leaves over the inner head or leaves. Asparagus is blanched by mounding soil over emerging spears. |
| Bolt | To produce seeds or flowers prematurely; bolting most frequently occurs when cool-season plants (e.g. lettuce) are set out in hot weather that rushes growth. |
| Bonsai | Growing and training (pruning) dwarf plants in containers to create a tree or landscape in miniature. Japanese for “tray planting”. |
| Bracts | Modified leaves growing on some plants below a flower. Bracts are usually green but they may be colorful enough to resemble flowers or petals. Bougainvillea & poinsettias have show bracts. |
| Branch | An outgrowing shoot, stem, or twig that grows from the main stem or trunk. |
| Broad-Leafed | Refers to evergreen trees and shrubs that have foliage year-round but are not conifers (junipers, spruce, etc.) Very few broad-leafed plants are hardy here (Oregon Grape & Purple-Leafed Wintercreeper are examples). Also refers to any weed that is not a grass. |
| Bud | A rudimentary organ or shoot of a plant. A flower bud develops into a blossom; a growth bud produces shoots of leafy growth. |
| Bud Union | The point at which a shoot or bud (scion) unites with the rootstock. |
| Budding | A method of propagation in which a bud (scion) from one plant is inserted beneath the bark of another related plant. |
| Caliper | The diameter of a tree measured at a point 6″ above the ground line if the resulting measurement is no more than 4″. If the resulting measurement is more than 4″, the measurement is made at a point 12″ above the ground line. |
| Calyx | The sepals of a flower. |
| Cambium | The layer of growing cells between the xylem and phloem. Cambium is a growth layer that forms each year and eventually becomes wood. |
| Cane | A primary stem which starts from the ground at a point not higher than 1/4 the height of the plant. |
| Carpel | A single-celled ovary or seed vessel. |
| Cascading | Generally, a horizontal, weeping form. |
| Catkin | A slender, spike-like, often drooping flower cluster (birch & willows produce catkins). |
| Collar | The line of junction between the root of a plant and its stem or trunk. |
| Conifer | Conifers have leaves that are narrow & needlelike or tiny & scalelike. Most conifers (junipers, pines, etc.) are evergreen; a few conifers (larch) are deciduous. All conifers bear seeds in cones or conelike structures (juniper berries, etc.) |
| Corm | A swollen underground stm base composed of solid tissue; roots grow from a basal plant at the bottom of the corm. |
| Crown | The portion of a tree comprised of the branches; the entire branch structure, including foliage. Crown also refers to the point at which a plant’s roots & top structure join, usually at or near the soil line. |
| Cultivar | “Cultivated variety”. Genetically distinct plants that are maintained in cultivation by human effort. They may be hybrid origin or selected varieties of plants that occur in the wild. Cultivars are propagated by divisions, cuttings, or seed. |
| Deadhead | To remove spent flowers, neatening a plant, preventing it for setting, and/or prolonging its bloom. |
| Deciduous | Any plant that naturally sheds all of its foliage at any one time (usually in fall). |
| Defoliation | The unnatural loss of foliage. It may result from intense heat, drought, high winds, early or late frosts, or severe damage caused by chemicals, insects, or diseases. |
| Dieback | When a portion of a plant’s stems die beginning at the tips. Causes include inadequate moisture, nutrient deficiency, severe injury from pests or disease, and poor climate adaptation (not hardy). |
| Dormancy | The annual period when a plant’s growth slows down (usually dormancy commences as days grow shorter & temperatures grow colder). |
| Drainage | The downward movement of water through the soil. |
| Drip Line | The circular area of soil around a tree directly under its outermost branch tips; rainwater tends to drip from the tree at this plant. Roots of established trees usually extend beyond the drip line. |
| Espalier | A plant trained so that its branches grow in a flat pattern against a vertical surface. |
| Evergreen | Plants that never lose all their leaves at one time (can be either broad-leafed or conifers).B42 |
| Eye | A dormant bud on a corm, tuber, or root division from which a stem will develop with the corm, tuber, or root division is planted. |
| Family | All plants are classified in a family whose members share certain broad characteristics that set them apart from plants in other families. Latin family names typically end is “aceae” (such as Rosaceae-the rose family). |
| Fan | A descriptive term for the growth habit of certain perennials (Iris & Daylilies, for example) which have no vertical stem because the leaves originate from the rhizome. |
| Fastigiate | Narrowly upright, columnar. Probably will not become half as wide as tall. |
| Fertilization | The fusion of male & female gametes (fertile reproductive cells) following pollination. |
| Fertilize | To apply nutrients in the form of fertilizer to a plant. |
| Field Potted | See Balled and Potted (B&P). |
| Flower | The part of a seed-bearing plant that contains the reproductive organs. |
| Forcing | Hastening an out-of-season plant to maturity or to a flowering or fruiting stage. Usually occurs in a greenhouse, where temperature, light & humidity can be controlled. |
| Frond | Technically, it is the foliage of ferns but sometimes used to describe the leaves of palms or any foliage that looks fernlike. |
| Fruit | The mature ovary of a plant, containing one to many seeds. Fruits may be soft & fleshy (apples, etc.) or dry (acorns, dried pea pods). |
| Genus | Plant families are divided into groups of more closely related plant; the first word in a plant’s botanical name. The second word is the species. |
| Girdling | The removal of bark all around a stem or branch which cuts off water & nutrients and can kill the plant. Occurs when a woody plant has been tied tightly to a support and the growing plant becomes constricted or by gnawing animals. |
| Graft | A small shoot or scion of a tree is inserted in another tree and becomes part of it. However, the “grafted” scion retains the characteristics of its own parent. This method of propagation is widely used, especially in fruit trees. |
| Grow Bag | Also called “in-ground fabric bags”, porous bags into which liner plants are placed for growing on to landscape size. Root growth through the bag is restricted, resulting in a compact, fibrous root ball within the bag. |
| Growth Habit | The mode or rate of growth, general shape, mature size, and branching structure of a plant, including the changes which take place seasonally during its life cycle (e.g. deciduous, flowers, fruiting, etc.). |
| Harden Off | Exposing a plant that has been growing indoors to increasing periods of time outside so that it can make the transition to being planting outdoors with a minimum of shock. |
| Hardy | A plant’s resistance to, or tolerance of, frosts or freezing temperatures. This refers only to temperature-many other factors (exposure, moisture, etc.) affect a plant’s survival. The word does not mean tough, pest-resistant, or disease-resistant. |
| Heading | Remove a stem or branch back to a bud, twig, or branch too small to take over the terminal rose. Heading stimulates growth of lateral buds just below the cut, producing clusters of shoots. |
| Height | Unless otherwise specified, the vertical distance between the collar and the top of the stem, measured in the plant’s natural position. |
| Herbaceous | A plant with soft or fleshy (non-wood) tissue. They usually die to the ground each year & regrow stems the following growing season (perennials). |
| Humus | The soft dark substance formed when animal or vegetable matter decomposes. Commonly used to describe organic materials that will eventually decompose into humus-sawdust, leaf mold, animal manure, ground bark, etc. |
| Hybrid | A plant resulting from a cross between two species, subspecies, varieties, cultivars, or any combination of these. Hybrids are indicated by the symbol “X” in a botanical name. |
| Hydroponics | A method of gardening with a water-based solution rather than soil. |
| Inflorescence | A group of individual flowers on a single stem. These may be a spike, umbel, raceme, panicle, or composite head. |
| Internode | See “Node”. |
| Latent Bud | A bud that lies dormant until the branch is cut or breaks near it. The bud then will develop into a new shoot. |
| Lateral Bud | An axillary bud that is produced in the axil of a plant. |
| Leader | The central upward-growing stem of a single-trunked tree or shrub. |
| Leaf | The main photosymthic organ of most plants. |
| Leaf Scar | A rounded or crescent-shaped mark on a branch where a leafstalk once was attached. |
| Leafburn | Damage to a leaf’s tissues from sunlight, chemicals, strong wind, or lack of water. Leafburn usually starts as brownish, dried-out tissue around the edge of the leaf; sometimes the whole leaf dries out. |
| Leaflet | A division or segment of a compound leaf. |
| Lip | Irregular flowers often have an upper & a lower division (each known as a lip). Honeysuckle is a common example. |
| Medium | A mixture of two or more ingredients such as soil, peat moss, perlite, ground bark, etc. in which a container plant is grown. |
| MicroClimate | A small area (a portion of town, a backyard, or even a section of a yard) with a slightly different climate that that of its larger surroundings where plants that might not survive in a specific zone may grow well. Factors include hills, rims, structures, other planting, etc. |
| Naturalize | To set out plants randomly, without a precise pattern, and allow them to spread at will. Also refers to plants that become established in an area where they are not native. |
| Node | A sort of knot or protuberance on a stem where leaves arise; the joint in a stem where a bud, branch, or leaf starts to grow. The area of stem between nodes is the “internode”. |
| Offset | A young plant that develops at or near the base of the parent plant. Strawberries & Sempervivum are good examples. |
| Open-Pollinated Plants | Varieties or cultivars of plants that are produced from natural, random pollination. In contrast with hybrids which are the result of deliberate crosses (controlled pollination). |
| Palmately Compound Leaf | The leaflets grow from one point at the stem. |
| Peat Moss | A water-retentive organic soil amendment (partially decomposed remains of mosses). It increases soil acidity. Spagnum peat moss is considered the highest in quality. |
| Pectinate | Resembling the teeth of a comb, serrated. |
| Pendulous | Weeping; it will usually grow along or close to the ground unless it is staked. |
| Perennial | Non-woody plants that live for more than 2 years (unlike annuals and biennials). They often live for many years. |
| Petiole | The stalk connecting the blade of the leaf with the branch or stem. |
| Pinching | The most basic pruning cut on annuals & perennials. Use scissors or your thumb & forefinger to nip off the tips of new growth. Pinching side shoots causes stems to lengthen; removing terminal growth case side shoots to grow. |
| Pinnately Compound Leaf | The leaflets are arranged along a central axis. |
| Pleaching | A training method where branches are interwoven to form a hedge or arbor. Subsequent pruning keeps a neat, rather formal pattern. |
| Plug | A cylinder of medium in which a plant is grown; generally used to describe seedlings and rooted cuttings which have been removed from the container but with the medium held intact by the roots. |
| Pollarding | A training method where the main limbs of a young tree are drastically cut back. The growth from these branch stubs is cut back to 1 or 2 buds each dormant season. In time, the branch ends become large & knobby. Result is compact, leafy dome in season. |
| Pollinator | An insect or animal that transfers pollen from one part of a flower to another or from flowers on one plant to flowers on another. |
| Prostrate | Ground creeping habit; becomes much wide than tall. Height will usually not exceed 3 feet. |
| Rhizome | A thickened stem growing partially or entirely below ground; the roots grow directly from the underside. |
| Root Ball | The intact ball of earth or growing medium containing the roots of a nursery plant. |
| Root Pruning | The systematic pruning of roots of nursery plants growing in the field in order to stimulate branching of the roots and the production of fibrous roots. |
| Rootbound | Plants grown in the same container for too long develop tangled, matter roots. When repotting, several slits should be made into the rootball of a severely rootbound plant. |
| Rootstock | The term used to describe the part of a plant, including the collar and roots, on which another ariety has been budded or grafted. (The same as “understock”). |
| Rosette | Leaves closely set around a crown or center, usually at or close to ground level. |
| Runner | See “Stolon”. |
| Scion | A shoot or twig cut for the purpose of being grafted upon some other tree or for planting. |
| Self-Seed or Self-Sow | When a plant sheds fertile seeds that produce seedling. |
| Shearing | Indiscriminate heading that involves clipping a plant’s outer foliage to create an even surface. Best done on plants with closely spaced buds on main & lateral branches so almost every cut ends up near a growing point. |
| Species | Each genus is subdivided into groups of individual species-generally distinct entities that reproduce from seed with only a small amount of variation. This is the second latin word in a botanical name. |
| Spore | A simple reproductive cell. Algae, fungi, mosses, and ferns reproduce by spores. |
| Sport | A spontaneous mutation (variation) from the normal pattern, often a branch that differs from the rest of the plant. |
| Spread | A term used to indicate the horizontal width of a shrub or the crown of a tree. |
| Spur | A specialized short twig that bears the plant’s fruit (in grapes and fruit trees) or the short, sac-like or long, tubular projections from a blossom’s petals or sepals (like in Columbine). |
| Stamen | The male fructification organ in a plant; it is situated immediately within the petals and composed of the filament, the anther, and the pollen. |
| Standard | Usually refers to a plant that has been grafted onto a rootstock (the standard); a plant trained to a single, upright trunk topped by a rounded crown of foliage. |
| Strain | Plants in a strain (sometimes called a series) are similar but vary in some respect-usually flower color. Used mostly with annuals and perennials. |
| Stress | The result of inadequate or excessive water, wind, or excessively high or low temperatures. Stress causes wilting, dulling or loss of foliage color, and browning of leaf edges. |
| Subspecies | The 3rd Latin name in some botanical names (follows genus & species; often preceded by “ssp.”) This is used when there is a major division within a species (such as Picea pungens glauca ‘Fat Albert’) |
| Sucker | In a grafted or budded plant, suckers grow from the rootstock rather than from the grafted or budded part of the plant. |
| Taproot | A thick central root that may penetrate deeply into the ground. Taproots are storage organs in plants like carrots & parsnips. |
| Tender | The opposite of hardy’ tender plants have a low tolerance (or no tolerance) for frost or freezing temperatures. |
| Tendrils | Specialized growths along the stems or at the ends of leaves on some vines. Tendrils wrap around supports, enabling the vine to climb and cling. |
| Thin | To prune out entire branches, large or small, cutting back to the main trunk, a side branch, or the ground. Seedlings or developing fruits are thinned by removing excess plants or fruits so that the remaining ones have enough room to grow well. |
| Topiary | The technique of pruning & training shrubs and trees into shapes (either geometric forms like cones, spheres, etc. or other objects such as animals.) |
| Trunk | The portion of a stem or stems of a tree before branching occurs. |
| Truss | A typically compact cluster of flowers at the end of a stem, branch, or stalk. |
| Tuber | Swollen underground stem bases (similar to a corm, but no basal plate; roots can grow from all sides instead of just one or a few growing points). |
| Umbel | See “Inflorescence”. |
| Underplanting | Planting one plant beneath another, such as ground covers under trees. |
| Understock | See “Rootstock”. |
| Variegation | Striping, edging, or other markings in a color different from the primary color of a leaf of petal. |
| Water Sprout | In trees, any strong vertical shoot growing from the main framework of the trunk and branches; also sometimes referred to as a sucker. |
| Whip | A young tree without branches (in some species and grades, spurs may be present). |
| Whorl | The arrangement of three or more buds, leaves, flowers, or twigs at the same node. |
| Woody | A plant with hardened (woody) stems or trunks. (In contrast with the soft stems of an herbaceous plant.) |
