Garden Glossary - U, V & W
Here you will find a glossary of garden terms that start with the letters U, V & W.
- Umbel - the part of a plant bearing flower clusters in which all the flower stalks are of similar length and arise from the same point.
- Underplanting - growing short plants under taller plants.
- Understock - the part of a plant to which a graft is attached.
- Undulate - having a wavy margin as in leaves or petals.
- Unisexual - a flower of one sex only, either male or female.
- Urban horticulture - specialty in the study of stresses affecting city trees and landscapes.
- USDA - acronym for United States Department of Agriculture.
- USNA - acronym for United States National Arboretum.
- Variegated - plant parts having different pigments resulting in more than one distinct color or shade on the foliage.
- Variety - a subdivision of a species; occurs through natural hybridization.
- Vascular system - the tissue in a plant that moves fluids through the plant.
- Vector - an organism that transmits a disease-causing pathogen.
- Vegetable - a plant with edible leaves, stems, seeds and/or roots.
- Vegetative - plant parts and processes concerning growth and nutrition and not reproduction.
- Vein - the rib or branch of a plant leaf vessels.
- Venation - the pattern of veins.
- Vermiculite - sponge-like granules that can hold both air and water, used in potting mixtures.
- Viable - capable of growing or developing.
- Vine - a plant which trails and climbs by means of attaching tendrils and stems.
- Virescent - becoming green such as plants with new growth of red or yellow.
- Virus - a group of submicroscopic infective agents that are considered nonliving complex molecules.
- Volunteer - a plant that shows up on its own, meaning it wasnt planted that season. This could be from a previous years plants that went to seed, seeds being blown into your garden from surrounding areas, or birds carrying and dropping seeds.
- Vulgaris - Latin term meaning common or ordinary.
- Wall garden - a garden grown against a man-made structure, to protect the plants or for aesthetic purposes for the wall.
- Warm-season crops - crops taht are harmed by frost and do not grow well until the temperatures are in the 70's.
- Water garden - plantings of aquatic plants around and in a backyard pond, or fountains.
- Waterlogged - soil that is oversaturated with water.
- Watersprout - a vigorous sucker growing from the base of a woody plant.
- Wattle - an old English term for a fabrication of poles interwoven with small branches or reeds; used for wind protection, screening, or supporting vines.
- Weed - an uninvited and usually unattractive plant in a garden, that you did not plant.
- Wetting agent - a substance added to water that increases its ability to wet surfaces, particularly waxy or oily surfaces.
- Whip - a very young tree that still has a flexible trunk.
- Whorled - buds, flowers, leaves or shoots arising from the same node, usually three or more.
- Wide-row planting - growing the smaller vegetable crops in a space up to 3 feet across to better utilize space while reducing weeding.
- Wildflower - a herbaceous plant capable of growing, reproducing and becoming established without cultivation.
- Wildlife garden - using plants that will attract and feed animals in your garden.
- Willow water - a solution made from willow thats said to aid in rooting cuttings.
- Wilting point - the amount of water in a soil when a plant cannot obtain enough water to remain turgid.
- Witches'-broom - a dense, bushy growth of branches and foliage caused by a parasitic fungus and mites or poor pruning techniques.
- Woodland garden - growing plants beneath deciduous trees.
- Woody - having hard, tough tissues that live from year to year and are capable of producing shoots or flower buds.
- Wounding - the deliberate cutting of plant stems to increase root formation.
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