Gardening Definitions

Many people know the terms of gardening while many do not. I decided a gardening definition to certain words could be very useful, especially if you are an amatuer gardener and are not quite positive as to what certain words and terms are.

Gardening Definitions


Annual Plant:
A annual is a plant that completes its life cycle
in one year. This means it goes from seed to seed
and then dies off, during the course of one
growing season. The whole mission of an annual is
to produce seed and propagate. That's why
deadheading or removing spent flowers before the
seed matures, produces more flowers and therefore
more potential seeds.
Some tender perennials are grown as annuals in
colder climates. For a perennial to be worth
growing as an annual, it must flower profusely in
its first year of growth. Pansies, lantana and
alyssum are all actually tender perennials.
There are also plants considered to be hardy
annuals. This just means that they are able to
withstand a little frost without being killed off
and will continue to bloom and set seed into the
next year, but they will eventually expire.
Bachelor Buttons and Salvia Victoria are examples.


Biennal flower or plant:
A biennial is a plant that requires two growing
seasons to complete its life cycle. During the
first growing season it produces mainly foliage.
In it's second year it will flower and set seed,
often early in the season. Parsley is a biennial
that goes to seed in the spring and becomes less
valuable as a culinary plant. Some biennials, like
hollyhocks, self seed and appear to be perennial.


Compost:
Compost is the end product of the decomposition of
organic matter. Organic matter includes: garden
waste, kitchen scraps, manure, leaves, grass
clippings, straw... There are many methods of
composting, but all organic matter will eventually
decompose, with or without our help.
Compost is not particularly high in essential
nutrients, (N-P-K), and is considered a soil
conditioner rather than a fertilizer. However;
organic matter is a valuable soil amendment
because it: can improved soil structure, aids in
necessary microbial activity in the soil, attracts
beneficial insects such as earthworms, can
suppress several soil born diseases and holds its
nutrients in organic or slow release form,
allowing for availability throughout the growing
season. While there are many methods of composting
and many composting bin styles, there is no best
method. As the bumper sticker says, "Compost
Happens". The important thing to remember is that
you can never add too much compost to your soil.
You can till compost directly into the soil or add
some as a side dressing to established plants.
Also Known As: Humus Organic Matter

Deadheading:
Deadheading refers to the removal of dead or spent
flowers either to encourage more flowering or to
improve the general appearance of the plant. Most
annuals and many perennials will continue to bloom
throughout the growing season if deadheaded.
Rudbeckia and Echinacea are good examples of
perennials that benefit from deadheading.
Deadheading can be accomplished by pruning the
spent flowers or even by pinching them off with
your fingers. For plants with a profusion of tiny
flowers, like threadleaf coreopsis, it is often
easier to deadhead by shearing back the whole
plant. It will take a little longer to set new
flowers, but it will.

Herbaceuos perennial plants:
When a plant is called herbaceous, it means that
the stems are soft or succulent and green, as
opposed to brown and woody. Generally soft, green,
herbaceous growth will die back to the ground in
cold, winter climates. The roots of the perennial
plant are alive and well and new growth will
emerge in the spring.

Hybrid plants:
A hybrid is a cross between two different plant
varieties to get the valued attributes of each
variety. Hybrids are developed for disease
resistance, size, flowering, color, taste and any
reason a plant might be considered special. Most
modern plants currently on sale are hybrids.
Because they are a cross between varieties, the
seed produced by hybrids will not necessarily
roduce a plant similar to it. Seedlings grown
from a hybrid could exhibit traits of one or both
parent plants or be something totally surprising.
With patience, hybrid seeds can be carefully
selected and grown out until they eventually
stabilize and will grow true to the parent hybrid,
however; most seed companies simply continue cross
breeding to produce the seed.

Propagation:
A means of reproducing plants by placing an intact
branch or stem in contact with soil, encouraging
it to send out roots. Once rooted, the branch can
be severed from the mother plant, roots and all,
and planted elsewhere.

Open pollinated plants:
Open pollinated or OP plants are varieties that
grow true from seed This means they are capable of
producing seeds from this seasons plants, which
will produce seedlings that will be just like the
parent plant, however some plants will naturally be cross
pollinated with other plants, so even if it is OP,
the seeds resulting from a cross pollination could
yield a different plant. Peppers will cross
pollinate with other plants and if your sweet
peppers are too close to your hot peppers, you
will eventually wind up with a lot of hot peppers.

Perennial Plants:
Perennials are considered to be ornamental plants
that do not die after one season of growth. This
does not mean they live forever. In fact many
perennials are considered to be short-lived,
lasting only 2-3 years. Rose campion is a short
lived perennial, but because it self-seeds so
readily, it appears to live much longer.
Not all plants with the ability to be perennial
are hardy in all areas. This is why planting zones
are so important. Knowing what zone you garden in
will allow you to determine what plants will
survive in your area.
The term perennial is generally reserved for
plants with showy flowers, excluding ornamental
grasses and other plants mainly grown for their
foliage. The term herbaceous perennial further
narrows the group to plants with soft, green stems
that die back to the ground in colder climates.
Trees, shrubs and other woody stemmed plants are
excluded.


Hope that's useful.
Until the next time be well and be safe.
Happy gardening!