Glossary D

Damping down

Refers to the practice of spraying the floor of a greenhouse or polytunnel with clean water, on hot mornings to increase humidity and therefore reduce temperatures.

Damping off

The term used for fungal ailments, usually affecting seedlings that cause the stem to rot off at or just below soil level. Caused by bad handling, overcrowding, poor drainage and/or air flow.

The removal of fading or dead flowers, to tidy the plant, reducing fungal problems, and to prevent seed setting. The process often encourages repeat flowering, as if plants are left to go to seed they will stop flowering.

Deciduous

Plants that shed their leaves or needles seasonally, usually in the Autumn, and produce a new flush of leaves or needles in the Spring.

Dibber

A small hand tool used in horticultural cultivation, for sowing seeds, pricking out seedlings and planting bulbs.

Dioecious

Where male and female flowers occur on separate plants. For example skimmias and hollies.

Disease

Almost any ailment a plant may suffer from, other than pest damage. Encompassing attacks by bacteria, fungi, virus and growing condition ailments.

Division

The means by which herbaceous stock may be increased. For large plants, two forks are inserted back to back into the clump of roots and carefully prized apart to divide the rootstock. Smaller plants may be divided by hand or with a knife. This is ideally done while the plant is dormant.

Dormant

Dormancy is used to describe a period without growth in a plant. This is a naturally occurring phase used by the plant to survive unfavorable growing conditions. This may be extremes of temperature, or periods of drought. Dormancy can occur in cells, buds and seeds, in many plants, from alpines to trees.

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Glossary D

Damping down

Damping off

Dead Heading

Deciduous

Dibber

Dioecious

Disease

Division

Dormant

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