Garden Glossary

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Abdomen - the posterior section of the arthropod body.

Abiotic - nonliving.

Acclimate - to adapt to new environmental conditions.

Acidity - quality of being sour; degree of sourness; having a pH of less than 7.

Adventitious - plant parts, such as shoots and roots, produced in an unusual position on a plant or at an unusual time of development.

Aeration - to be exposed to air; to cause air to circulate through a medium.

Aggregates - (soil); clumps or cemented units of mineral and organic matter.

Algae - aquatic plants that lack a vascular system. Some are microscopic and others are large. Examples are pond scum, kelp and red tides.

Alkalinity - having a pH greater than 7.

Alternate host - a secondary host that becomes infected and is necessary for alternating generations of a disease-causing organism.

Amendment - an alteration or addition to soil to correct a problem.

Anaerobic - able to live and grow where there is no air.

Annuals - plants that complete their life cycle in a year or less.

Anther - the upper part of the stamen where the pollen is produced.

Apical bud - a bud at the apex or terminal position on a plant or branch.

Arboretum - pl. arboreta; a place where trees, shrubs, vines and herbaceous plants are cultivated for scientific and educational purposes.

Arthropod - invertebrate animals (insects, arachnids and crustaceans) that have a jointed body and limbs and usually a hard shell or exoskeleton that is molted periodically.

Asexual propagation - the duplication of a plant from a cell, tissue or organ of the plant.

Bacteria - microscopic organisms having round, rod-like, spiral or filamentous single-celled or noncellular bodies often gathered into colonies.

Band fertilize - to apply fertilizer in a narrow line along a row of plants or in a circle around individual plants.

Bare root - a plant that is sold or shipped dormant with no soil surrounding its roots.

Beneficial insects - insects that prey on or parasitize pests.

Bentgrass - a high-maintenance grass used on putting greens. It requires frequent cutting with a reel mower, frequent fertilization and watering. It is highly susceptible to several diseases.

Biennials - plants that complete their life cycle in two years or growing seasons.

Binomial nomenclature - a system in which the scientific name of a plant consists of two parts indicating the genus and species.

Biological control - the use of living organisms or their products to control pest populations.

Biological diversity - presence of many different types of living organisms.

Bolt - the tendency of cool-season plants to grow rapidly and produce seeds when exposed to warm temperatures.

Bonsai - a potted plant dwarfed by special cultural practices.

Bract - a modified leaf, usually reduced in size or scale-like. Sometimes large and brightly colored.

Bramble - any shrub with thorns in the rose family; usually refers to blackberries and raspberries.

Branch crown - plant tissue that is the junction of the roots and stem that forms on the side of a strawberry plant. These only form foliage.

Broad spectrum - pesticides that affect a wide variety of pests.

Bud scales - specialized tissue that covers the terminal bud and embryonic leaves of a plant during winter.

Bud union - the location of a graft.

Bulb - an underground storage organ made up of enlarged and fleshy leaf bases and a bud.

Bulbil - a small bulb that forms along the stems of certain plants, such as tiger lilies and bladder ferns.

Bulblet - a small bulb that develops around a parent bulb and can be removed to propagate additional plants.

Button - the small heads of broccoli or cabbage that form as a result of seedlings being exposed to freezing temperatures.

Cage - an enclosure used to support a plant.

Callus - wound tissue.

Cambium - the tissue in a plant that produces new cells.

Candle - the new shoot growth on needled evergreens before the needles expand.

Cane - a one-year-old shoot on a grapevine.

Canopy - the top layer of a tree including branches and foliage.

Capillary action - a force that causes liquids to rise or fall when inside very small tubular spaces.

Carbon dioxide, CO₂ , - a colorless, odorless gas found in the air. It is absorbed by plants and exhaled by animals.

Carnivore - a flesh-eating animal.

Caterpillar - worm-like larva of various insects, especially butterflies and moths.

Cell - the unit of plants that makes up tissues. Cells have a cell wall that encloses the protoplasm.

Chlorophyll - green pigments in plants that facilitate photosynthesis.

Cloche - a transparent plant cover used to protect plants from cold temperatures.

Cold composting - composting under conditions where the temperatures do not rise to 140^o F.

Cold frame - a glass-covered frame without artificial heat used to protect plants and seedlings.

Collar - a band of material used as a mechanical barrier to protect a plant from damage by insects.

Compaction - a state where soil particles are forced closely together, reducing pore space.

Complete metamorphosis - changes in body form of insects that include egg, larva, pupa and adult; also known as complex metamorphosis.

Compost tea - a low-nutrient liquid that results from placing plant debris in water and allowing it to decompose.

Composted manure - animal feces that have been aged in a pile, allowing much of the nitrogen to leach from the feces. A nonburning organic fertilizer.

Contact insecticide - a poison that must contact the body of the insect to be controlled.

Contractile - drawing together resulting in decreased size or bulk.

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Cool-season crop - a crop that grows best during the cool temperatures of spring and fall.

Cool-season grass - turfgrasses that actively grow during the cooler spring and fall weather. These include Kentucky bluegrass, the fescues, ryegrasses and bentgrass.

Cordon - horizontal branches of a grapevine trained along the trellis; also called the arms. The canes left after pruning which will produce fruiting shoots and new canes.

Core aeration - increasing air penetration of the soil by removing plugs of soil. A heavy machine with hollow prongs is moved across a lawn pushing the prongs into the soil and pulling out plugs of soil.

Corm - a short, thickened, underground, upright stem in which food is stored.

Cormel - a small corm that forms around the parent corm. It can be removed and planted to propagate a new plant.

Cotyledon - the leaf or leaves of the embryo, also called seed leaves.

Cover crop - a crop that improves the soil in which it is grown.

Crop rotation - growing crops of a specific family in different areas of the garden each year to avoid soil-borne diseases and nutrient depletion.

Cross-pollination - the transfer of pollen from one plant to the stigma of another plant.

Crotch - the angle measured from the trunk of a tree to the upper surface of a branch.

Crown - the part of a plant where the root and the stem meet.

Culinary - used in cooking.

Cultivar - also cultivated variety; a subdivision of a species, a result of human-manipulated hybridization.

Cultivation - preparation of the soil for growing plants.

Cultural control - the use of good gardening techniques to control pest populations.

Cuticle - a waxy or varnish-like layer covering the outer surface of leaves.

Cutin - the waxy or varnish-like material that makes up the cuticle.

Damping Off - Damping-off is a fungal disease that can kill seedlings overnight. The fungus rots the stems at the soil surface, causing the seedlings to fall over and die. A way to control this problem is with improved circulation.

Day-neutral plant - a plant that will flower under any day length.

Days to maturity - the number of days between planting the seed and first harvest.

Deadhead - to remove spent blossoms of herbaceous plants.

Deciduous - plants that drop their leaves at the end of each growing season.

Dehydration - an abnormal loss of fluids.

Desiccation - drying.

Determinate - growth that is limited.

Diameter breast high - the diameter of a tree trunk at a height of 4-1/2 feet above the ground.

Dicot - also dicotyledon; flowering plants with embryos that have two cotyledons.

Dioecious - plants that have only male or only female flowers on an individual plant.

Disease resistance - the tendency not to be infected by a particular pathogen.

Disease tolerance - the ability of a plant to continue growing without severe symptoms despite being infected by a pathogen.

Division - a method of propagation by separating and planting segments capable of growing roots and shoots.

Dormancy - a state of suspended growth or lack of visible activity caused by environmental or internal factors.

Double dig - a method of digging a garden bed which involves removing the soil to the depth of one spade blade and then digging down an equal distance, breaking up and mixing the soil.

Drift - when a pesticide is blown by wind onto nontarget organisms.

Drip irrigation - a system of tubes with small holes that allow water to drip out onto the root zone of plants. A water-conserving irrigation system.

Drip line - a line encircling a tree corresponding to the furthest extension of the branches of a tree.

Drought - a prolonged period of dryness that can cause damage to plants.

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