PLANT TALK, TRANSLATED

A little less jargon.
A lot more understanding.

Your friendly A–Z of the words that make plant care make sense.

A

Acclimation

The physiological adjustment of a plant’s leaves and tissues to a new level of light, temperature or humidity, which for light often means producing new leaves built for the new conditions.

Aeration

The proportion of air-filled pore space in a growing medium and the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide between that space and the atmosphere.

Aerial root

A root that forms on a stem above the growing medium, used by climbing and epiphytic plants to anchor to supports and absorb moisture.

Aroid

Any member of the arum family, Araceae, whose flowers consist of a spadix of tiny flowers surrounded by a leaf-like spathe.

B

Bottom watering

Watering a container by standing it in water so the medium draws moisture upward through the drainage holes by capillary action.

C

Chlorosis

Yellowing of normally green leaf tissue caused by reduced chlorophyll production or chlorophyll breakdown.

Coco coir

A growing medium made from the pith and fibres of coconut husks, sold as fine pith, fibre or chips.

Compost

Organic matter decomposed by microbes into a stable, humus-rich material; in the UK and Ireland the word also names bagged potting media.

Controlled-release fertilizer

A fertilizer, usually resin- or polymer-coated granules, that releases nutrients gradually as water diffuses through the coating at a rate set mainly by temperature.

D

Drainage

The downward flow of excess water out of a growing medium and through the holes of its container after watering.

E

Epiphyte

A plant that grows on another plant, usually a tree, for support only, taking water and nutrients from rain, air and debris rather than from its host.

Etiolation

Pale, weak, abnormally elongated growth with long internodes and small leaves, produced when a plant receives too little light.

F

Fertilizer burn

Damage to roots and leaf margins caused by excess soluble salts from fertilizer, which draw water out of root cells by osmosis.

H

Humidity

The amount of water vapour in the air; relative humidity (RH) expresses it as a percentage of the maximum the air can hold at that temperature.

I

Indirect light

Daylight that reaches a plant only after being scattered by the sky, reflected from surfaces or filtered through a sheer curtain, with no direct sunbeam on the leaves.