Your Quick & Easy Plant Glossary for Even the Most Confusing Terms
Caring for houseplants is a hobby that I’ve found boosts my mood and promotes overall mindfulness because of the time, attention, and patience it takes to help them thrive. When you’re new to the plant game, though, it can feel overwhelming when people talk about things like “indirect light” or an “internode.” You don’t need to memorize every single plant term to be successful, which is why I put together a houseplant glossary that you can come back to whenever you need to refresh your memory.
As with any new hobby, all of the lingo can get confusing and might leave you feeling lost when shopping for new-to-you species or when asking for advice on how to take the best care of your plants. Familiarizing yourself with these 28 basic plant terms can make you feel less overwhelmed — and even a little bit more confident — as you continue to add more plants to your collection.
Plant Terms & Definitions for Beginner Plant Owners
Kaitlin Mitchell, a houseplant and garden expert, says that knowing common plant care concepts can empower you to be a better plant owner and problem-solver. “Observe and celebrate the little wins, and use obstacles like malnutrition, pests, or disease to understand better and pivot your plant care,” she explains.
There are a lot of plant terms out there, so to make it a little less complicated, I’m highlighting the ones you actually need to know as a beginner plant owner.
1. Bottom-Watering
This is a watering method where you place a plant in a pot with a drainage hole, and then you submerge the bottom of the pot in a dish of water or inside a cachepot. From there, the plant essentially waters itself, drawing in moisture as needed. “Some do this to encourage more roots,” says Ashley Nussman-Berry, a plant expert and founder of Black Planters. You usually leave the pot in the water until the soil is moist, for 10 minutes to an hour.
2. Bright Light
Bright light is also known as bright indirect light, which is the kind of light found more than a foot away from a direct light source. You can find it a few feet from a sunny window or on a part of a windowsill that doesn’t get direct sunlight.
3. Burn
Plant burns are when the leaves appear to have crispy, browning, and scorched spots, according to Nussman-Berry. This usually happens due to excessive sunlight, over-fertilization, or exposure to harsh chemicals. You can try to treat them by cutting back on whatever you believe the cause is, like putting your plant in a spot with less sunlight if you think it’s been too close to a window.
4. Cachepot
This is a pot without drainage in which you can nestle a smaller pot that does have drainage. “By filling the base of the larger pot with water, you hydrate your plants by allowing the soil to pull in hydration as needed,” Mitchell says. Cachepots are very popular with people who use the bottom-watering method.
5. Chlorophyll
You don’t need to open your old science textbooks for this one. Mitchell has the perfect refresher for you, explaining that chlorophyll is the green pigment within a plant that absorbs energy from the sun through photosynthesis and converts it to food for the plant.
6. Direct Light
When a plant is in direct light — either sunlight or a grow light — it means that the light source shines directly on the plant, and the light is unfiltered. In addition to the plant being touched by the light, the exposure remains uninterrupted during the day. You can usually find this on a sunny windowsill or within a foot of a sunny window.
7. Drainage/Drainage Hole
A drainage hole is often located in a plant pot’s base and helps ensure that any excess water that a plant and soil don’t absorb has a place to go. The main reason for a drainage hole is to promote proper drainage and prevent root rot. It’s also used for bottom-watering.
8. Grow Light
It’s no secret that plants need light to grow. Sometimes the sun or the windows in your home don’t provide enough light for plants to thrive. This is when grow lights come in handy. These artificial lights help replicate sunlight and allow plants to continue growing indoors.
9. Grow Pot/Grower’s Pot
A grow pot is usually a container where seedlings grow before the more mature plant is repotted in a new pot. The pots are typically made of porous materials, like terracotta, but can also be made of plastic. According to Mitchell, they “allow for aeration [which] can help produce healthier root systems and prevent [the plants] from becoming root-bound.”
10. Indirect Light
A plant gets indirect light when sunlight or grow lights don’t directly hit it, but the plant still gets the required exposure. Nussman-Berry says placing a plant on the opposite side of a south-facing window where it still gets light or “having a sheer curtain in between window and plants so they are not in the sun’s direct path” are prime examples of indirect light.
11. Internode
Internodes are the areas between the nodes (more on nodes later) on a main stem that help support new growth. Mitchell says locating the internodes is important if you want to propagate certain types of plants (more on propagation later, too), such as herbs. “You would cut at the base of an internode, right above a node,” she explains.
12. Leggy Plants
A leggy plant is something you don’t want your little green friend to become, because legginess means your plant is not getting everything it needs. According to Nussman-Berry, “a plant becomes leggy when it is not receiving enough light and has to stretch toward a light source, resulting in long stems with fewer leaves.” To prevent a leggy plant, rotate your plants weekly.
13. Low Light
A plant in low light refers to those areas with minimal natural light. Nussman-Berry says these are often a few feet from a north-facing window or a room with small or far windows. Plants with low-light requirements can tolerate low light levels but don’t thrive in actual darkness.
14. Node
A plant node is the part of the stem where new growth forms. “It’s a new branch, leaf, or flower bud that grows from a plant’s main stem,” says Mitchell.
15. Offshoots/Plant Pups
Some plants, such as aloe and spider plants, create offshoots, also cutely known as “plant pups.” These are smaller “baby” plants that you can snip off when they’re about three inches long and use them to start a new plant.
16. Perlite
If you take a look at your potting medium, you’ll sometimes see small, styrofoam-looking balls in the mix. These perlite balls are made from volcanic materials and are naturally porous and absorbent, which Mitchell says can help aerate the soil for healthy airflow and drainage.
17. Photosynthesis
Another term you might remember from science class! Mitchell reminds plant hobbyists that photosynthesis is one of the most important plant processes. “This is the process of plants being exposed to sunlight, converting carbon dioxide into food for the plant, and giving off oxygen,” she explains.
18. Phototropism
Mitchell says phototropism is “nature’s magic” and is responsible for plants being able to stretch their stems, leaves, and budding flowers toward the strongest source of light. With that said, the stretching can lead to uneven-looking plants, so Mitchell recommends rotating them every week for more even growth.
19. Plant Cutting
A plant cutting is a portion of a plant that has been cut off, but it’s a little more complex than that. For example, this does not include dead leaves you just pruned. Instead, this term refers to a piece of a plant’s roots, stems, or leaves that are snipped off and “placed in an environment that encourages the cutting to grow its own roots or stems to eventually become an independent plant,” Mitchell says. It’s a common way to propagate a plant.
20. Plant Family
You don’t need to know every level of plant classification to grow houseplants, but plant families help you understand which plants share similar characteristics and nutritional needs. Mitchell says learning plant families is useful because when you understand how to care for one plant within that family, you don’t have to start from scratch if you buy a new plant in the same family. It’s worth noting that a plant family isn’t the same as a plant species — it’s a bit more all-encompassing and includes multiple species.
21. Potting Soil/Potting Mix
Potting soil and potting mix are the medium used for your plants to establish roots and live, according to Mitchell. “Depending on what the plant needs to thrive, potting mixes can contain different nutrients and components designed to retain or dispel hydration,” she explains.
22. Propagation
Plants aren’t always started from seeds; they can also grow from existing plants. Mitchell says, depending on your plant’s characteristics, “you can propagate by cutting from the stem or leaf, dividing between rhizomes, or using plant pups, offshoots, or runners.”
23. Rhizome or Rhizomatic
Rhizomes are horizontal underground stems with vertical shoots or branches above ground. “From each upward growth, there is also usually a small root system below the rhizome to support that part of the plant,” says Mitchell. Some popular rhizomatic plants include bamboo, ginger, and many different types of grasses.
24. Root Rot
Overwatering your plants or improper drainage can cause something called root rot. According to Mitchell, this occurs when “the roots of a plant persistently sit in water, which suffocates the plant and becomes a breeding ground for bacteria and unwanted fungus.” To save a plant with root rot, wash its roots, cut away the infected roots, and repot it.
25. Rootbound
When a plant is rootbound, it means that its roots have run out of room in its pot. “When this happens, the roots circle around the [pot] interior, looking for somewhere else to get the needed hydration and nutrition,” Mitchell says. Common sights of a rootbound plant include leaves wilting after watering, yellowing leaves, or stunted growth. If you notice this happening, Mitchell says it’s time to repot the plant in a larger container.
26. Runners
When talking about a plant’s runners, you’re referring to stems that grow horizontally above ground and can produce new plants asexually (i.e., without fertilization) through independent root systems. Some common houseplants that have runners include spider plants, pothos, and orchids.
27. Succulent
“A succulent is a type of plant that stores water inside [of itself] and it’s known to be drought tolerant,” says Nussman-Berry. These types of plants are common choices for beginners because succulents are usually easy to care for. Some popular varieties include cactus and aloe.
28. Variegation/Variegated
Variegation refers to different-colored markings on plants’ leaves, such as a mix of green and white and sometimes even pink and green. “These plants are often a little bit slower to grow due to containing less of the green pigment [aka, chlorophyll] that allows the plant to turn sunlight into food for the plant,” Mitchell says.
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