Gardening Definitions

Perennial- A plant that lives longer than two growing seasons. It will either die back after each season, of continuously grow, as some bushes do. Examples include begonias or mints.
Annual- A plant that germinates, flowers and dies within one growing season. Examples include corn or marigolds.
Biennial- A plant that takes two growing seasons to complete it's lifecycle. The first year is growing and the second year it will flower or fruit. Examples include Sweet William or parsley.
Bulb- Vertical shoot that has thickened leaf bases that are used as a food storage organ by a dormant plant. Examples include tulips or onions.
Corm- A short vertical underground plant stem that are used as a food storage organ by a dormant plant. Corms are often confused with bulbs. When you cut a corm in half, it is solid. When you cut a true bulb in half, you will see layers. Examples include crocus or gladiolus.
Rhizome- A horizontal stem of a plant usually found underground. It will send out roots and shoots from it's nodes. Rhizomes and tubers are often confused. Examples include ginger and iris.
Tubers- A thickened part of a root that has been enlarged for use as a storage organ. Tubers are high in starch. Examples include a potato.
Evergreen- A plant, tree or shrub that has leaves year round. Examples include a pine or fir tree.
Deciduous- A tree or shrub that lose their leaves seasonally. Examples include forsythia and maple trees.
Ecosystem- A natural unit consisting of all plants, animals and micro-organisms in an area, functioning together with all the non-living physical factors of the environment. Examples include a coral reef, the desert, tundra or the rain forest.
Invasive Species- Non-native species that adversely affect the habitats they invade. It also describes the ability to expand or reproduce.

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