Garden Glossary - D
Here you will find a list of common garden terms that begin with D.
- Damping Off - a fungus disease that causes plant stems to rot at soil level. It can result from using an unsterile soil medium, and/or over-watering.
- Day-neutral plant - a plant that will flower under any day length.
- Days to maturity - the number of days between planting the seed and first harvest.
- Deadhead - to remove spent blossoms of herbaceous plants.
- Deciduous - plants that drop their leaves at the end of each growing season.
- Deep Shade - plants that require less than two hours of partial sun each day.
- Defoliation - a plant prematurely losing its leaves, usually as a result of a stress on the plant such as disease or pests.
- Dehydration - an abnormal loss of fluids.
- Desiccation - drying.
- Determinate - growth that is limited.
- Dethatch - removing dead grass and plant material that accumulates under the lawn. Aids in the soils ability to absorb nutrients.
- Diameter breast high - the diameter of a tree trunk at a height of 4-1/2 feet above the ground.
- Dibble - a pointed tool used to sow seeds and flower bulbs by poking a hole in the soil.
- Dicot - also dicotyledon; flowering plants with embryos that have two cotyledons.
- Dieback - the branches and shoots of a plant dying; caused by stress from chemical, disease, pests, and/or weather damage.
- Dioecious - plants that have only male or only female flowers on an individual plant.
- Direct seeding - sowing a seed directly into their final growing place.
- Disbud - removing some of a plants buds to promote larger flowers on the remaining buds.
- Disease resistance - the tendency not to be infected by a particular pathogen.
- Disease tolerance - the ability of a plant to continue growing without severe symptoms dispite being infected by a pathogen.
- Dish garden - planting a shallow pot (dish) with small plants.
- Disk - the flat central part of a compound flower.
- Dissected - segments that look cut or divided; as in fringed petals and leaves.
- Division - a method of propogation by separating and planting segments capable of growing roots and shoots.
- Dolomitic limestone - used for lowering the pH level, aka liming, of acidic soil.
- Dormancy - a state of suspended growth or lack of visible activity caused by environmental or internal factors.
- Double dig - a method of digging a garden bed which involves removing the soil to the depth of one spade blade and then digging down an equal distance, breaking up and mixing the soil.
- Double flower - has extra petals that overlap eachother.
- Double leader - when a tree has two shoots growing as lead shoots.
- Double potting - placing a potted plant into a larger pot and surrounding it with peat moss.
- Drift - when a pesticide is blown by wind onto nontarget organisms.
- Drip irrigation - a system of tubes with small holes that allow water to drip out onto the root zone of plants. A water-conserving irrigation system.
- Drip line - a line encircling a tree correspondig to the furthest extension of the branches of a tree.
- Drop spreader - a piece of equipment that is used to accurately spread fertilizer or lawn seed.
- Drought - a prolonged period of dryness that can cause damage to plants.
- Dwarf - a plant that grows much shorter than its normal growth.
- Dye plant - a plant whose natural pigment can be used to stain textile or paper.
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