Garden Vocabulary Words: Commonly English words with definition related to gardening.
Deciduous Tree – Tree that sheds all its leaves in autumn or the dry season.
Dormancy – Dormancy is a period in an organism’s life cycle when growth and development are slowed down or temporarily stopped in unfavorable conditions. This minimizes metabolic activity and therefore helps an organism to conserve energy. During dormancy, they strengthen their root systems and trunks. This is most likely to happen during seasons winter or dry. Many plants will likely be dormant when the humidity exceeds about 30%. Then they focus their energy on keeping the existing foliage and roots hydrated.
Drought – A period of abnormally dry weather sufficiently prolonged for the lack of water to cause a serious hydrologic imbalance in the affected area.
Exotic Plant – An exotic plant is not native or comes from outside our area but may survive and reproduce here, displacing native species and altering natural systems.
Foliage – Foliage plants are grown primarily on their attractive leaves rather than flowers or fruits and are utilized for interior decoration or interior landscape purposes.
Grit – Grit is very small pieces of rock or stone, coarse or gravelly dust. It is used to enhance the extra drainage in composts.
Hardy Plant – Plants that withstand extreme temperature variations, pollution, dust, extreme soil conditions, and minimal water requirements. These plants can remain dormant in such conditions and survive.
Herbaceous – The plant has non-woody stems that reach their full height. It has soft, flexible green stems above the ground. These plants grow fast and produce flowers and seeds in a short period.
Infestation – The presence of a massive number of insects, pests or parasites in a place that carries disease to cause damage to the plants.
NPK – Fertilizers are labelled with numbers that represent the percentage of the three primary macronutrients – Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P) and Potassium (K) – that are available in the fertilizer. These elements are listed as the NPK.
Nitrogen (N) Fertilizer – It helps Vital to chlorophyll for photosynthesis, thus converting the sun’s energy into sugar. It is also responsible for the produces green and leafy plants. Sources of Nitrogen (N) are Urea, Manure and Compost.
Perennial – Perennials are plants that can live for three or more growing seasons, with most producing flowers, produce fruits, and seeds, and the cycle continues for a longer period.
Perlite – Perlite is a glassy volcanic rock with a rhyolitic composition and 2%–5% of combined water. It is a lightweight granular material that’s white in colour. Its characteristics are low density, air porosity, ultimate water storage capability, rot, and moisture resistance. It provides moisture retention and aeration without compaction when added to the soil.
Phosphorus (P) Fertilizer – Phosphorus is mainly responsible for root growth development of buds and promotes blooming, fruit and seed production. Without enough phosphorus, foliage may take on a bluish tone, stunted growth, or fewer blooms. Phosphorus (P) sources are Manure, Compost, Biosolids, Bone Meal, etc.
Pollinator – A pollinator is anything (animals, birds, insects, bugs and even humans) that helps carry pollen from the male part of the flower (stamen) to the female part of the same or another flower (stigma). The pollen movement must occur for the plant to become fertilized and produce fruits, seeds, and young plants.
Porous – Something that is porous has many small holes, so liquid or air can pass through, especially slowly.
Potassium (K) Fertilizer – Potassium is excellent for overall plant health, plant vigor, and helping plants resist disease. It is also involved in transporting water and nutrients throughout the plant. A lack of potassium may appear in various ways, such as curled leaf tips, yellowing leaves, foliage with purplish or brown spots or stunted growth. Potassium (K) sources are Manure, Compost, Biosolids, Wood Ash, etc.
Propagation – Propagation of plants involves the formation and development of new individual plants, which are used to establish new plantings. It is simply the reproduction or multiplication of a plant from a source, often called a mother plant. There are different propagation methods, such as Cuttings, Layering and Division.
Pumice – An usually light-colored, highly porous properties, glassy, lightweight rock from volcanic origin. They retain moisture in optimum quantity and absorb needful nutrients for continuous supply to the plant’s roots. It helps to aerate the soil. Pumice can be added to the garden soil for improved soil structure and help to retain excess moisture.
Soil pH – SSoil pH measures soil acidity or alkalinity, which can be measured by testing their pH value. A pH value measures hydrogen ion concentration or potential of hydrogen.
Topsoil – The uppermost layer of the soil.
Tropical Plant – A tropical plant is a plant that grows naturally in a tropical climate. A tropical climate is typically hot and humid, with temperatures constantly exceeding 18 degrees Celsius with zero frost days. Tropical specifically means regions of the Earth that lie roughly in the middle of the globe or equator. The three types of tropical climate are classified as Tropical Rainforest or Equatorial (Af), Tropical Monsoon (Am) and Tropical Wet and Dry or Savannah (Aw).
Variegated – The presence of two or more colours having patches, stripes, or marks of different colours in the leaves, petals, or other parts of plants.