Glossary of Common Garden Terms

Summary of Key Terms

Annual - a plant that completes its life cycle in a single growing season.
 
Biennial - takes two years to complete its biological life cycle.
 
Carotenoids - group of orange or red or yellowed-coloured pigments common in some vegetables.
 
Chitting - allowing a plant such as a potato to produce sprouts before planting out.
 
Cultivar - a plant specially grown for a unique features such its type of flower or leaf colour or variation.
 
Deciduous - a tree or plant that sheds its leaves every year.
 
F1 Hybrid - the selective breeding of a plant by cross pollinating two different parent plants.
 
Half hardy - a plant will not survive a frost.
 
Hardy - a plant can survive a temperature of -15degreesC.
 
Humus - dark organic material made up of decayed plant or animal matter.
 
Perennial - a plant that lives for more than two years.
 
Self-fertile - a plant that does not need pollen from a second individual in order to fertilise and set fruit.
 
Rhizome - a fleshy stem which grows horizontally at or below ground level and produce roots and shoots.
 
Tuber - a swollen underground stem that stores food reserves for its future growth such as the potato.
 
Saponins - organic compounds in the roots and bulbs that foam like soap when shaken with water.

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(c) Compiled by B V & T M Wood.   All rights reserved.   Disclaimer