Botanical Words Alphabetical List - HA
HABIT: The characteristic growth or general appearance of a plant. The "habit of growth" may be low-growing, tall, erect, spreading, trailing, bushy, and so on.
HABITAT: The type of place in which a plant grows naturally.
HALF-HARDY ANNUALS: Plants that will survive some frost, but not a long freeze.
HALOPHILOUS: Preferring or habitually growing in salty soil as maritime plants.
HAMATE: Curved at the tip, like a hook.
HANDPICKING: A method of controlling pests by literally removing the pest from the plant by hand. This is effective with larger pests, such as tomato hornworms and snails.
HANGING BASKET: A container hung from a brace, tree, etc., with a rope or cord, which is used to grow ornamental plants.
HANGING PLANT ROTATOR: A device that rotates a hanging plant a certain amount (usually 90º) to ensure even lighting.
HAPLOID: Having the number of chromosomes characteristic of the germ cells, or half the number present in the body cells.
HARDENING OFF: The gradual process of acclimating plants started indoors to outside conditions. Setting them in a sheltered location outdoors for increasing lengths of time over a period of days is said to be hardening off the plants. If the plants are just set outside without getting used to the different atmospheres, they will most likely suffer.
HARDY: Used to describe a plant that is able to survive the cold temperatures of a given location without protection. When a range is given, hardiness also describes a plant's ability to tolerate the hottest temperatures normally experienced. (For example, a Palm tree isn't hardy in Alaska, because it is a tropical plant requiring a warm, humid atmosphere..)
HARDINESS ZONES: Areas classified by climate and temperature range for the purpose of determining which plants can be grown where. The U.S. is divided into eleven zones. One is the coldest and eleven is the warmest. Plants living in zones one through four are considered vary hardy; those in zones 5 - 7 are hardy; those in zones 8 - 9 are fairly hardy; those in zone 10 are said to be very tender, which means most will not survive freezing; zone 11 is frost-free since it consists of subtropical or tropical regions. The zones are classified by their average low temperature. Zone 1 has an average low temperature of -50º F. Zone 2 = -50º to -40º; zone 3 = -40º to -30º; zone 4 = -30º to -20º; zone 5 - -20º to -10º; zone 6 = -10º to 0º; zone 7 = 0º to 10º; zone 8 = 10º to 20º; zone 9 = 20º to 30º; zone 10 = 30º to 40º; zone 11 = no lower that 40º.
HARDPAN: A hard or cement-like soil or soil layer.
HARDWOOD: The wood from trees with encapsulated seeds (i.e. nuts or fruits), as distinguished from a conifer or cone-bearing tree, which has naked seeds. Oaks, Walnuts and Maples are all hardwoods. Pines and firs are softwoods.
HARROW: 1. A rake-like tool that is drug over plowed soil to prepare it for planting. 2. To draw a harrow over soil; to break or tear with a harrow, as to harrow ground.
HASTATE: Having a triangular shape like a arrowhead.
Back to our botanical home page.
