Glossary

The Tucson Gardener

Hornworm.
Hornworm on Tecoma 'Orange Jubilee".

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Red lantana bloom.
Lantana blooms.

Glossary
Acclimate - Have you ever brought a houseplant back into the house for the winter after it spent a summer outside and all its leaves fall off? That's because you didn't give it a chance to acclimate or slowly get use to its new environment. You wouldn't poor iced water into a hot glass. Same thing goes for plants. Let them get adjusted to their new environment slowly.

Amendment - added to soil to improve one or more characteristics such as better water or air holding abilities. Soil amendments include manure, peat moss, compost, sand, perlite, vermiculite, wood chips and any other number of both organic and inorganic substances. What's added depends on the type of soil and its needed improvement for better plant growth.

Annual - plant that begins and ends its lifecycle in one growing season or within one year. Examples are bedding plants: zinnias, petunias, snap dragons, calendula, pansy, etc.

Bolt - when talking about plants bolting refers to the plant's sudden decision to flower. If you grow lettuce and the weather suddenly turns warm the plants try to flower losing their compact shape and often turn bitter tasting. When that happens the lettuce is destined for the compost pile.

Cactus - take a ride through Tucson Mountain Park and look for the growing fleshy stemmed, spiny things. While you're there you might as well plan on a visit to the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum to become familiar with the plants and fauna of northern Mexico and the southwest.
If you're still curious continue on to Saguaro National Park West.

Caliche - one of Tucson's hidden monsters. Found beneath the soil the mineral build up forms a layer of rock that's almost like a slab of concrete. The caliche can prevent root growth and water drainage. Varying in thickness, it's possible to dig a chimney through the concrete to allow for drainage. A pick, steel bar, or jackhammer along with perfunctory cursing may be needed to dig through the stuff.

Compost - a gardener's and public landfill's best friend. A mixture of decomposing organic matter that improves desert soils. Composted materials can be purchased but every avid gardener with room in his yard should have a compost pile where organic matter ( leaves, kitchen scraps, old vegetables, straw, etc.) mixed with water and soil is broken down by soil organisms to make rich, usable compost.

Deciduous - a plant that sheds all its leaves once during the year. Ash trees, mulberry, apricot and peach trees are deciduous.

Drainage - relates to the flow of water. Good drainage in soil keeps a plant's roots from drowning. Managed drainage built into a landscape can direct rain water to help irrigate plants.

Drip irrigation - a method of watering using low pressure so the water is distributed in a slow, consistent manner. A water conservation tool as compared to flood irrigation where you might let the hose run to fill tree wells.

Drought tolerant/Drought resistant - we live in the desert where rainfall is not guaranteed nor are we sure we'll have the time to water the plants when needed. When water is scarce, the drought tolerant will survive. They may not look too good but with a supply of moisture they will quickly regain their appearance and continue to grow. Tucson's native plants have adapted to their environment and are drought tolerant.

Erosion - a common sight in the foothills and along arroyos where runoff from heavy rains wash away the soil leaving deep ruts. The banks of the Santa Cruz and Rillito Rivers were prime examples of the power of erosion before they were reinforced with concrete and soil.

Evergreen - just like the word implies. Plants that never loose their leaves all at once.

Fertilizer - nutrients necessary for plant growth. Usually designated by N for nitrogen, P for phosphate or phosphorus and K for potash or potassium. A 10-5-5 fertilizer would have 10 percent nitrogen, 5 percent phosphate and 5 percent potash. Fertilizer can come from chemicals or manures and other organic gardener recommended sources such as blood meal and bone meal. A complete fertilizer would contain all three nutrients, N-P-K.

Other fertilizers are available to supply minor nutrients such as iron, zinc, boron and manganese.

Ground cover - Tucson gardeners seem to have an aversion to bare soil. Thus ground cover like low growing purple lantana or trailing indigo bush. Also mulch makes a ground cover whether wood chips or rocky material whether a colored crushed stone, plain river rock or pea gravel.

Genus - the often difficult to pronounce name given to the subdivision of a family or subfamily in the classification of plants. An example is Carnegiea. Add gigantea to it which gives the species and you have Carnegiea gigantea. In laymen's term the saguaro (sahuaro) cactus.

Integrated Pest Management - in an attempt to live longer, eat healthier, and protect our environment integrated pest management mixes biological and chemical sources with the grower's practices to control plant pests and diseases in the most environmentally sound way.

Irrigation - flood, drip, trickle, seep are all methods of getting needed moisture to a plant's roots.

Landscape - a nice watercolor of the Catalina Mountains would make a nice landscape painting. In the desert garden a landscape is the placing of plants and all the accouterments whether it be a retaining wall, garden bench or flagstone patio.

Low maintenance - little upkeep for plants and environment. Rock covered areas and drought resistant, slow growing plants help to create the low maintenance yard.

Micro climate - pockets of different climate within the garden. The shady north side of a house will differ from the sunny south side. A heated swimming pool or heat holding rock covered ground might offer frost protection for frost sensitive plants.

Mulch - Any number of substances -- wood chips, straw, compost, leaves, manure, fabric, plastic -- placed on top of the soil and around plants to help cool the soil and hold in moisture. Mulch also reduces the growth of weeds.

Perlite - a white lightweight volcanic rock added to soil to improve drainage and aeration.

pH - in soil, pH relates to the acidity and alkaline in the soil. Tucson's desert soils run toward the alkaline.

Pruning - selective removal of parts of the plant to control growth, shape and encourage flowering.

Raised bed - plant, flower or vegetable beds raised off the ground using wood, brick or stone around the edges. An advantage to raised beds is a quality soil can be added. In the summer small raised beds have a tendency to dry out faster than normal soil.

Row cover - used in the growing of vegetables lightweight floating row covers help keep out insects and birds and can offer some frost protection. Plastic row covers supported by a frame can help warm the soil and maintain warmer temperature in the tent like structure.

Shade cloth - Tucson's hot, sunny summer days can be hostile to some plants and vegetables actually causing sun burn to foliage, fruit and vegetables. Green, black and some lighter colors of a fabric are available offering different degrees of shading.

Soil - not to be confused with dirt which is nothing more than misplaced soil. Soil you find in the garden, dirt you find on the bottom of your shoes and in your house. Elements found in soil include sand and clay and has to do with the size of the soil particles. Other elements such as rocks and organic matter also contribute to the makeup of a soil.

Species - more information for scientifically naming a plant. The species name follows the genus. Caesalpinia (genus) pulcherrima (species). Red bird-of-paradise (common name).

Succulent - those fun little plants with fleshy juicy stems and leaves. Jade plants, hens and chickens, kalanchoe, and Christmas cactus for example.

Vermiculite - a lightweight substance made from expanded mica chips that's added to soil mixes. Vermiculite holds moisture well and can be used to root cuttings.

Xeriscape - a planned landscape using low water usage plants. Not to be confused with boringscape which is found in some neighborhoods where all the front yards are covered with the same color stone and have the same one or two native or drought tolerant plants.