Gardening Jargon Unravelled No.2

As many of our customers are new to gardening, we are continuing our glossary of gardening terms to help explain what some of the commonly-used gardening jargon means.
Deciduous – A plant that loses all its leaves in the autumn and grows new leaves in the spring.

Evergreen – A plant that has leaves all year round. These plants do lose some of their leaves, but they always have replacement leaves ready before the old ones fall off. Holly, Laurel and most conifers are evergreen. Evergreens provide structure and colour in the garden throughout the year.

Semi-evergreen – A plant that keeps its leaves if the winter is mild or if it is grown in a sheltered position, e.g. Privet or Abelia.

Hardy – A plant that will survive freezing weather conditions in the UK climate. Many perennials are hardy.

Tender/Frost Tender – Frost will kill these plants, although some may survive one or two early frosts, e.g. Begonias

Half-hardy – A plant that may withstand a few light frosts but should be brought into a frost-free greenhouse on very cold nights, e.g most Fuchsias – although some are hardy, most are half-hardy.

Hardening off – Gradually acclimatising plants that have been grown in a greenhouse, cold-frame or indoors to get them used to outdoor conditions. This is usually done by putting the plants outside in a sheltered spot during the day and bringing them back in at night. This is usually done for a week or two before planting them out in the soil or leaving them out in pots all the time.