Outdoor Planter Glossary

The glossary of terms for the planter & urn industry is provided to you by PlanterSupply.com. 

AERATE:    Loosening the soil for better water penetration.  Important in garden planters and garden soils.

ALLEE:   A formal design of aligning trees or plants down both sides of a path or drive.  Can be achieved using outdoor planters or outdoor urns for a dramatic effect.  

ANNUAL:    Plant that lives through one growing season.  Commonly used in container gardening or patio planters.  

BACKYARD WILDLIFE HABITAT:   Native plants used in garden planters to attract local birds, small mammals, or reptiles to visit, feed, or live in your backyard.  Easily achieved in city areas using patio planters.

BEDDING PLANTS:    Plants sold as suitable for growth in beds or outdoor planters.  Usually display quick, colorful flowers. 

BENEFICIAL INSECT:    Insects that improve the container garden by eating harmful insects or cross pollinating plants.  Ex:  bees, ladybugs, earthworms

BIENNIAL:   A plant that lives two years, and produces flowers the second year.

COMPOST:  Organic soil amendment resulting from the decomposition of plant or organic matter.  

CONSERVATORY:   A building partially or entirely of glass attached to a home - for growing large numbers of plants in planters.  Not to be confused with a greenhouse.  

DEAD HEAD:   Process of pinching off older blooms to encourage new blooms to grow.  

DRAINAGE:   How water moves through the soil.  Extremely important in planters.  Water should move through the outdoor pot easily.  Drill more holes if there is standing water in the planter.

FONTIS:    Latin for fountain which means "spring".

FOUNTAIN:   Derived from the Latin word fontis which means "spring".  

GREENHOUSE:    Structure built that will control light and humidity for growing plants in outdoor pots.

HEIRLOOM PLANT:    Plants that have been around 50 years or more - not all people consider the same plant heirloom.  Subjective.

HOUSE PLANTS:    Plants grown in indoor planters or decorative planters inside the house.

HUMUS:   The brown or black organic part of soil resulting from the partial decay of leaves or other matter.  

LICHEN:   Symbiosis between algae and fungus.  Comes in various colors and is interesting and unique.  Can grow on the outside of decorative planters if kept adequately moist. 

LOAM:    Good quality soil.  Adequate supplies of clay, sand, and fiber present.  Crumbly texture.  Ideal soil for garden planters.  

MOON GARDENING:   Romantic night garden created by using white flowers that bloom at night or light-colored varigated leaf plants.  

OVERWATERING:   More damage done here than in underwatering.  Common problem with overzealous caretakers of indoor planters.   Good drainage can compensate for some of this.  Dilutes and leaches out nutrients.

PEAT:    Preserved and compressed remains of dead bog plants.  Used as an additive in outdoor planters or indoor planters.  Also known as Peat Moss.  

PLANTER:    A box or pot used for growing outdoor plants, vegetables, or flowers.

PRUNING:   Trimming plants to remove dead or injured branches, or to control new growth.

RESIN:    Lightweight material popular in outdoor planter manufacture - shows detail and resists decay or rot.  Similar to fiberglass or polyethylene planters.  

ROOTBALL:   Network of roots and attached soil of a plant.  

ROOTBOUND:    Occurs when a potted plant has outgrown its planters.  The roots become entangled and matted.  Solution is to repot in a larger garden planter after loosening the rootball.

SPHAGNUM MOSS:   Used for air layering or lining the inside of hanging planters or flower planters.

SOIL pH:   Measurement of the calcium levels in soil.  A pH greater than 7.0 is alkaline, less than 7.0 is acidic.  Test kits are inexpensive.  One test kit necessary for each outdoor planter.

STAKING:   Driving a stake in the ground next to a plant for support.  The stake should be set in the outdoor pot before the plant is inserted in the patio planter.  Tie loosely to avoid strangling the stem.

TERRA COTTA:    Italian for "baked earth"; common in container gardening, outdoor pots, and garden planters.  May dry out more quickly than other materials and will crack in cold snaps.

TOPIARY:    Method of pruning plants to resemble animals or formal shapes.  Popular in outdoor pots, decorative planters, or outdoor urns.  

THATCH:    Layers of dead stems, leaves, or cut grasses that can build up at the soil level.  Periodic removal important, even in patio planters.  

TRANSPLANTING:  Moving a plant to another location or from one outdoor pot to another outdoor planter.  

UNDERWATERING:   Plants grown in indoor planters or outdoor pots recover more quickly from this than from overwatering.  

URN:   A vase that ordinarily has a narrowed neck above a footed base.  Commonly used as a decorative planter.  

VERMICULITE:   A good addition to patio planters or an outdoor planter - retains air and moisture in the soil.  Particuarly important in outdoor planters or indoor planters.