|
|
|
| C | |
| Calcicole or caliphile | Limey soil loving plant. |
| Callus | Hard tissues form over a wound so that the healing process is protected. |
| Calyx | The outer whorl of flower parts made up of sepals. |
| Cambium | The active growth layer below the bark. |
| Canker | The damaged area of bark that has become malformed through disease. |
| Cap or capping | Hard surface on the soil. |
| Capillarity | Water rising above its normal level. |
| Capillary bed | A sandy bed on which pots of plants can stand and have direct access to water without standing directly in it. |
| Capillary mat | Fibrous matting which serves the same purpose as the sand in the capillary bed. |
| Capsule | A seed-carrying pod. |
| Carpel | The female sexual organs which contain the ovary, style and stigma. |
| Carpeting plant | The stems of the plant take root as they spread. Also known as a carpeter. |
| Catch crop | A fast maturing plant grown in between two more slow growing vegetable crops. |
| Central leader | The central, vertical stem of a tree. |
| Chard | Young stems. |
| Chelated | Describes a special formulation of plant nutrients, which remain available in alkaline soil. |
| Chestnut compound | A fungicide made up of 2 parts by weight of copper sulphate and 11 parts by weight ammonium carbonate. Store for 2 days before using at a rate of 1 0z to 2 gallons of water to prevent damping off in seedlings. |
| Chit or chitting | Put seeds in a light, slightly moist place forcing them to sprout before they are planted, an example being potatoes. |
| Chlorophyll | The green pigment in plants needed for photosynthesis. |
| Chlorosis | A lack of nutrients in the soil causing the plants leaves to turn yellow. |
| Climber | Generally any plant that grows upwards, either with help or with its own natural twining abilities, tendrils or hooks. |
| Cloche | A cover to protect plants from low temperatures. |
| Clone | Identical plants propagated sexually from the same parent. |
| Clump plant | A deciduous plant that grows from clusters of buds in spring.. |
| Compost | Organic matter ie: leaves, grass cuttings, vegetable peelings etc., that has been allowed to rot down over a period of time. |
| Compound fertilizer | Three main constituents for healthy plants, nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium are contained in this fertilizer. |
| Contact pesticide | A chemical that kills pests and diseases on contact. |
| Container-grown | A plant that has always grown in a pot, even as a seedling. |
| Contractile roots | Roots of bulbs and corms that contract in length, pulling the organ deeper underground. |
| Controlled release fertilizer | Pellets of fertilizer are coated so that they release their nutrients slowly. |
| Copper naphthenate | A harmless liquid preservative for timber. |
| Coppicing | Vigorous pruning to ground level to encourage new basal shoots. |
| Cordon | A fruit tree that normally has lots of branches, restricted to a single stem by pruning. |
| Corm | Swollen storage stem base looking a little like a bulb but without the onion-like layers. |
| Cotelydon | A seed leaf, usually the first one. |
| Cristate | A crested leaf form in ferns. |
| Crock or crocking | Broken terracotta flower pots used at the bottom of flower pots to help with drainage. Usually placed over the hole to form an air pocket. |
| Cross | A hybrid. |
| Crown | The main branch system of a tree or the part of the plant where the leaves rise from the roots. |
| Cultivar | A variety raised in cultivation. |
| Cultivator | A tool used to break up the soil. |
| Cutting | A piece of stem, root or leaf taken from the main plant and placed in compost, in order to grow a new one. |