Gardening Vocabulary Lesson: 24 Words

organic material such as wood chips, grass, compost, or leaves that is spread at the base of a plant to control weeks and hold moisture in the soil.

​​Mulch (n)

​a plant that lives for two or more years.

Perennial (n)

To cut off spent flowers from a plant to encourage reblooming.

Deadhead (v)

​A plant that needs less than two hours of sun per day.

Deep Shade (n)

​To sow seeds directly into their permanent growing space.

Direct Sow (n)

a condition of plants grown without sufficient light, which can lead to weak stems, small leaves and leaves that are pale yellow instead of green.

Etiolation (n)

Soil, compost or fertilizer with a pH between 0 and 7.0.

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Acidic (adj.)

Soil, compost or fertilizer with a pH between 7.0 and 14.

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Alkaline (adj.)

A plant that completes its life cycle in one year or less, requiring that the plant be sown again each year.

Biennial (n)

A yellowing of the leaves caused by the lack of chlorophyll or proper nutrients, or because of disease.

Chlorosis (n)

Organic matter from decomposed material from plants. Compost is added to garden beds or pots to refresh nutrients in soil.

Compost (n)

A variety of plant that has been selectively bred specifically for a certain desirable feature, such as color.

​​Cultivar (n)

A plant that is propogated by cutting a piece of leaf, stem or root from a parent plant and putting the cut piece into growing medium, thereby creating a new plant.

Cutting (n)

Any animal, such as bird or insect, that carries pollen among flowers.

Pollinator (n)

When a plant drops viable seeds into the ground around it, perpetuating the plant.

Self-Sow (v)

To move a plant to another growing location.

Transplant (v)

A new plant that grows from being self-sown or sown by an animal.

Volunteer (n)

​when a seed begins to grow.

GERMINATE (v)

Genetically Modified Organism. A GMO variety of a plant is usually one that has been genetically manipulated in a laboratory.

GMO (n)

A plant's ability to withstand cold temperatures.

Hardiness (n)

​A variety that is at least fifty years old.

Heirloom (adj)

​The material in which a plant is grown.

MEDIUM (n)

to create a low-maintenance, low-water garden landscape based on succulents and/or other native plants and small areas or no areas of grass.

​Xeriscape (v)