Green Daily

New to gardening and not sure what another gardener means when they talk about deadheading flowers? You are not alone and we are here to help. Following is a list of common gardening terms:

Acid soil: Soil with a pH less than 7.
Alkaline soil: Soil with a pH level higher than 7.
Annual: Living or growing for only one year or season.
Biennial: Having a life cycle that normally takes two growing seasons to complete.
Broadcast seeding: Scattering seeds by hand.
Cold frame: Typically a small greenhouse type box structure covered with plastic to grow young plants.
Companion planting: Two or more plants that benefit each other when planted close together.
Compost: A mixture of decaying organic matter, as from leaves and manure, used to improve soil structure and provide nutrients.
Container gardening: When space is limited, gardening in pots.
Cover Crop: A crop, such as winter rye or clover, planted between periods of regular crop production to prevent soil erosion and provide humus or nitrogen.
Cultivar: A variety of a plant that has been created or selected intentionally and maintained through cultivation.
Cutting: Snipping off a stem to start a new plant.
Deadheading: Once flowers are past bloom, snipping off the flower from the stem of the plant.
Deciduous: Trees that drop their leaves on a yearly basis.
Evergreen: Trees that do not drop leaves or lose needles during the cold dormant season.
Floribunda: A cluster of flowers.
Germination: When a plant first emerges from the seed.
Hardy: The ability of a plant to withstand cold.
Hardiness Zones: Hardiness zone maps identify the lowest minimum temperature of 11 different North America climate zones.
Heirloom: Non-hybrid open-pollinated plants and vegetables whose seeds are genetically resistant to change and have endured through 60 years or more.
Native Plants: Plants original to the area. Plants that have grown in the same area for many years and have adapted to the environment.
Pinching back: Pinching new leaves off to promote a bushier plant.
Pollination: The transferring of plant pollen from the male reproductive organs to the female reproductive organs to form seeds. In flowering plants, pollen is transferred by the wind or insects. In cone-bearing plants, male cones release pollen carried by the wind to the ovules of female cones.
Propagation: Taking part of a plant and growing more plants from it.
Succession planting: Spacing apart the planting of seeds.
Sustainable Agriculture: Environmentally friendly methods of farming that allow the production of crops or livestock without damage to the farm as an ecosystem, including effects on soil, water supplies, biodiversity, or other surrounding natural resources.
Transplant: Moving and replanting a plant.