David Domoney’s Gardening Glossary

A rake is a garden tool, which usually has a long handle and metal or plastic tines at one end. Different types of rake can be used for different jobs such as collecting leaves, moss or hay.

Tiny sap-sucking spider-like insects. Often found in greenhouses.

Repotting is the process of moving a plant from one pot to a new one. This could be because it has out-grown it’s current pot, or simply because the soil in the current pot needs refreshing.

A rhizome, or rootstock, is the lower stem of a plant, which when planted, grows roots and becomes a new plant.

A rockery is a collection of rocks and stones which have been arranged to create a garden display.

A root is an organ of a plant, which spreads out in search of nutrients and water. They also help to establish a plant into a firm position.

This is a crop that is grown primarily for its edible roots, for example carrots and potatoes are both root crops.

Root cutting is a technique whereby roots are cut from a parent plant and can then be propagated to grow new shoots and eventually, new plants.

A fungal disease that infects a plant's root system, causing them to wither and die.

When a plant has outgrown the pot it is in.

A rootball is a mass of roots which form at the base of a shrub or tree.

Rooting hormones are natural or synthetic hormones which stimulate root growth in plants. Most root cuttings will produce their own rooting hormones, but they can also be added to increase root growth.

The rootstock of a plant generally refers to the portion of the plant which is underground, including the root system. The roots of a plant are often responsible for determining the eventual size of a plant, so sometimes certain rootstocks are grafted onto other plants in order to grow plants of a particular size – eg dwarf varieties.

A rosarium is a garden or display of roses.

This is a term used in reference to growing potatoes. Potatoes plants are grown from ‘tubers’ and these tubers have a specific end called the Rose End. You can identify it easily, as it will be the end of the tuber with the most eyes.

A circular arrangement of leaves or foliage that can occur naturally or be arranged by hand.

A rotary mower is a lawn mower that had a blade which cuts in a circular 360 degrees motion.

A runner is typically a plant that has leafless shoots which grow from the base of the plant and along the ground, or just beneath the soil, and can form new roots at the nodes and new plants from buds.