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Gardening
Terms
Annual
any plant that goes through its entire growing cycle within a year
or growing season (germination, flower, fruit/seed, death)
Perennial
any plant which lasts more than two growth seasons, whether
remaining evergreen or dying back only to re-emerge from the root or bulb
Propagation
creating new plants from existing ones, whether from seeds or
spores or vegetatively (from cuttings, etc.)
Variety
a subgroup of plants within a species which has specific
characteristics, usually cultivated by the grower; some botanical names will
list the named variety with a “var.” in the name, but often this is left
out for space sake and their will simply be a third word in the botanical name
Botanical name
Latin names, nomenclature used to distinguish plants; each
botanical name will have the “Genus”, or family name first which should be
capitalized (such as Rosa for roses) and then a more specific, species
name next which will be in lowercase (such as Rosa banksiae for Lady
Banks rose); plants can further be characterized by a third name, that will
indicate a naturally occurring VARIETY (variation of the standard which is
noted by “var.” after the genus and species name), CULTIVAR
(characteristic that is cultivated variety --- thus CULTI-VAR --- by plant
breeders and will be noted by single quotation marks such as Rosa banksiae
‘Lutea’ for yellow Lady Banks rose), or HYBRID (a cross between two
different species which will have an “x” in the name)
Variegation
stripes, blotches, or other distinctive marking in a different
color on the leaf or bloom
Soil pH
designated as acidic (pH less than 7), alkaline (pH greater than 7) or
neutral; plants will be either acid-tolerant or alkali-tolerant; soil pH can
be measured and, at least temporarily, changed to aid in plant growth by
adding lime to increase alkalinity or by adding specific acidifiers to
decrease alkalinity
Deciduous
loses leaves at the end of the growing season; not evergreen
Evergreen
the foliage remains throughout the year or is replaced imperceptibly
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