Learning to Speak Garden Catalog

Garden catalogs should be overwhelming in their temptations, not in their vocabulary. But like any hobby, gardening comes with its own jargon. Sometimes the jargon can seem more foreign than the Latin names of plants, but the more types of plants you grow, the better you will become at deciphering the language of garden catalogs. If you are new to the genre, here is a primer in garden catalog lingo, to help you choose plants wisely for your garden. With that in mind, don’t be afraid to push the limits and experiment a little.

Garden Catalog Basics

• Latin Name - We may find Latin names cumbersome or snooty, but there is no other way to guarantee you are getting the exact plant you are looking for. Common names vary too widely from region to region and even from catalog to catalog. Sometimes an exclusive is just a catalog company’s sneaky way of making you think they have a unique plant. You may know you want a Coreopsis, which are all referred to as Tickseed, but there is great variety within the genus Coreopsis. Use caution when ordering from a catalog that only uses common names.

• Annual / Biennial / Perennial - These terms refer to the life expectancy of a plant. Annuals generally live for only 1 year. Biennials grow only foliage their first year and flower and go to seed during their second season. Perennials live for 3 or more years, often not flowering for the first year or two. Perennials grown in areas outside their hardiness zones are often considered annuals.

• Sun Exposure - Very generally:
  • Full Sun - at least 6 full hours of direct sunlight per day
  • Partial Sun / Partial Shade - 3 - 6 hours of sun each day
  • Full Shade: Less than 3 hours of direct sunlight each day,

  Exposure can very by region and even by season. Plants can handle more direct sunlight in cool temperatures or when receiving adequate water.

• Hybrid / Open Pollinated (OP) / Heirloom -
  • Hybrid plants are crosses between 2 or more plants. Seed from hybrid plants will yield a variety of plants with an assortment of traits from each parent plant. Hybrid does not mean genetically modified

  • Open pollinated plants have stabilized enough so that when you plant seed from your plant, the resulting plants will be virtually identical to the parent plant.

  • Heirlooms are all open pollinated plants. They have also been grown an handed down for generations, much like any other heirloom.

• Hardiness - Hardiness zones, which divide regions by the lowest average expected temperature and label plants that should survive the winters there, are merely guidelines. Newer plants may not have stood the test of time. Fluctuations in weather, both winter lows and summer highs, can test the limits of any plant.

• Days to Maturity - Usually refers to the time from when it is planted outdoors to time of harvest. If you are direct seeding outdoors, as with beans and peas, it means from time of seeding. If you are setting out transplants, as with tomatoes and peppers, Days to Maturity is counted from when the transplant where planted outdoors.

• Sizes: Size will always be dependant on growing conditions, but you can save yourself a lot of pruning if you read the fine print.
  • Compact: Usually means it grows somewhat tightly and uniformly, as opposed to plants they stretch and spread into neighboring plants.

  • Dwarf - Usually means smaller than the standard variety, which can vary greatly. A dwarf zinnia can be 6" tall. A dwarf Buddleia can be 2-3' tall. And some so called dwarf varieties, like Dwarf Alberta Spruce, are just full size trees that grow so slowly, you’ll be long gone before you realize you were taken.

  • Ground Cover - The term ground cover just refers to a plants enthusiasm for spreading. It doesn’t mean it is necessarily low growing.

• Bare Root - Many gardeners are surprised when a package arrives containing what looks like a dead stick with some roots. However dormant plants, like fruit trees and roses, can be successfully shipped this way. Inspect the stem for breakage and the roots for signs of rot or drying. If everything looks fine, soak the roots in a bucket of water for a day before planting and get them in the ground ASAP. Do not leave bare root plants sitting around unprotected. If you can’t plant them right away, keep the roots damp and wrapped or, better still, heel them into the ground (cover them with soil in a shallow trench for temporary keeping).

• Container Grown - Your plant has never been in a nursery bed. This means the root system is intact and has not been stressed by digging. It can also mean that the plant is pot bound.

  
  Garden Speak

• Season of bloom - Span given usually covers a broad range. Expect your plant to flower sometime within that range, but not the entire time.

• Blooms all season - Most plants have a period of down time after their initial flush of bloom ends. You will probably get sporadic blooms throughout the remainder of the season, but the biggest displays will be the first flush and perhaps, a second hurrah.

• Repeat Bloomer - Repeat bloomers don’t bloom continuously. They will have a large initial bloom and then either 1 or 2 more bud sets or simply the occasional flowering throughout the season.

• Blue - Blue doesn’t mean blue, when referring to flowers. To complicate matters, blue and purple flowers don’t photograph very well. So expect some variation from the catalog or tag picture and what grows in your garden.

• Deer Resistant - It might not be a deer’s first choice, but nothing is deer proof if they are hungry.

• Butterfly Plant - Different species of butterflies have different preference. In general, they will find any colorful garden. Large swaths of color will help them locate your garden while flying by.

More jargon to help you avoid temperamental or high maintenance plants.

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