Garden Glossary - Q & R
Here you will find a glossary of garden terms that start with the letters Q and R.
- Raised bed - a gardening area where the soil has been elevated above ground level. This gardening technique is especially used where soil drainage is poor. Beds can be raised in a structure of wood, brick, cement blocks, etc.
- Rasping - mouthparts that are rough and used to scrape a surface to feed.
- Reel mower - a mower with multiple blades mounted on a cylinder. The blades cut against a bar. It makes precise cuts and is ideal for lower mowing heights. The blades require professional sharpening. These mowers are safer to use than rotary mowers.
- Renewal spur - on grapevines, the cane pruned to one or two nodes on the cordon; becomes the fruiting cane the following year.
- Renovation - removing old planting and putting in a new one or removing and replacing only part of a planting.
- Respiration - the process where food is oxidized (burned) to release energy.
- Rhizome - an underground, horizontal stem.
- Root - the portion of the plant usually found below ground. They are distinguished from stems by not having nodes.
- Root girdling - encircling roots at or below the surface of the ground that tend to strangle the plant.
- Root hairs - tubular outgrowths of surface cells of the root.
- Root prune - to cut back the roots of a plant to encourage them to develop more fibrous roots or to reduce the mass of roots. Usually done before transplanting established plants or repotting houseplants.
- Rooting hormone - a chemical that stimulates the growth of roots.
- Rootstock - the root onto which a scion or bud is grafted or budded.
- Rotary mower - a mower with a blade that spins in a horizontal plane from a central rod. Its advantages are the ability to cut tall grass, versatility of movement, a less expensive purchase price and blades that can be easily sharpened.
- Row cover fabric - a loosely woven translucent fabric used to keep insect pests off crops. It also functions as a cloche.
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