Horticulture

thumb|upright=1.25|Surface-water-Gley soil|gley developed in [[glacial till in Northern Ireland]]

thumb|upright=1.35|A farmer spreading [[manure to improve soil fertility]]

right|thumb|Victoria amazonica (giant Amazon waterlilies) in a large greenhouse at the [[Saint Petersburg Botanical Garden]] A greenhouse is a structure that is designed to regulate the temperature and humidity of the environment inside. There are different types of greenhouses, but they all have large areas covered with transparent materials that let sunlight pass and block it as heat. The most common materials used in modern greenhouses for walls and roofs are rigid plastic made of polycarbonate, plastic film made of polyethylene, or glass panes. When the inside of a greenhouse is exposed to

thumb|A horticulture student tending to plants in a Market garden|garden in [[Lawrenceville, Georgia, March 2015]] thumb|The Rock Garden, Leonardslee Gardens Horticulture (from ) is the science and art of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, or ornamental plants. Horticulture is different from general agriculture, agronomy, and gardening in that it involves specialization and controlled cultivation and management of plants and their ecosystems. It can be distinguished by its subfields and or unique botanical expressions. There are various divisions of horticulture because plants are grown for

thumb|upright=1.25|Diagram illustrating the process of pollination thumb|upright=1.25|Female carpenter bee with pollen collected from a [[night-blooming cereus]]Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, for example bees, beetles or butterflies; birds, and bats; water; wind; and even plants themselves. Pollinating animals travel from plant to plant carrying pollen on their bodies in a vital interaction that allows the transfer of genetic ma

thumb|Apple orchard lanes with apples fallen off the trees thumb|Meadow orchard (Streuobstwiese) with view to the thumb|Apple orchards after snowfall in Sangla, India

thumb|upright=1.5|A garden cultivated on permaculture principles

thumb|Wine grapes on Long Island thumb|A vineyard in [[Brhlovce, Slovakia]]

thumb|Simon Bening, Labors of the Months: September, from a Flemish [[Book of hours (Bruges)]] thumb|Men sowing seed by hand in the 1940s thumb|Manual sowing machine Sowing is the process of planting seeds. An area that has had seeds planted in it will be described as a sowed or sown area.

fertilizer developed from natural processes

the ability of a soil to sustain agricultural plant growth

piece of a plant that is used in horticulture for vegetative (asexual) propagation

thumb|Illustration of the 'Willermoz' pear by Alexandre Bivort from Album de Pomologie (1848–1852) Pomology (from Latin , "fruit", + , "study") is a branch of botany that studies fruits and their cultivation. Someone who researches and practices the science of pomology is called a pomologist.

biological exchange across Atlantic Ocean

facility where plants are propagated and grown to usable size

thumb|Two workers pruning street trees in London during World War I

measure of the acidity or alkalinity in soils

Plant propagation technique

right|thumb|A close-up view of coir fibre right|thumb|Segregation of coir fibre Coir (), also called coconut fibre, is a natural fibre extracted from the outer husk of coconut, used in products such as floor mats, doormats, brushes, and mattresses, as well as horticulturally in potting mixes and soil amendments. In some countries it is locally called coprah (not to be confused with copra, a dry coconut meat). Coir is the fibrous material found between the hard, internal shell and the outer coat of a coconut. Brown coir, made from ripe coconut, is further used in upholstery padding, sacking, an

thumb|Mixed bean sprouts (shoots) thumb|Melon seeds sprouting thumb|Buckwheat sproutsSprouting is the natural process by which seeds or spores germinate and put out shoots, and already established plants produce new leaves or buds, or other structures experience further growth.

tangent of the angle of a surface to the horizontal

right|thumb|An arborist practicing [[tree care: using a chainsaw to fell a eucalyptus tree in a park at Kallista, Victoria.]]

geographic climate area relevant to plant growth and survival

thumb|Olericulture - panoramio Olericulture (from ) is the science of vegetable growing, dealing with the culture of non-woody (herbaceous) plants for food.

part of the year during which local weather conditions permit normal plant growth

thumb|Topiary animal in Tulcán, Ecuador

In biology, a propagule is any material that functions in propagating an organism to the next stage in its life cycle, such as by dispersal. The propagule is usually distinct in form from the parent organism. Propagules are produced by organisms such as plants (in the form of seeds or spores), fungi (in the form of spores), and bacteria (for example endospores or microbial cysts).

shoot that grows from an adventitious bud on the base of a tree or shrub, or from an adventitious bud on a root

thumb|A bunch of Cabernet Sauvignon wine grapes at varying levels of ripeness Ripening is a process in fruits that causes them to become more palatable. In general, fruit becomes sweeter, less green, and softer as it ripens. Even though the acidity of fruit increases as it ripens, the higher acidity level does not make the fruit seem tarter. This effect is attributed to the Brix-Acid Ratio. Climacteric fruits ripen after harvesting and so some fruits for market are picked green (e.g. bananas and tomatoes).

A cultigen (), or cultivated plant, is a plant that has been deliberately altered or selected by humans, by means of genetic modification, graft-chimaeras, plant breeding, or wild or cultivated plant selection. These plants have commercial value in horticulture, agriculture and forestry. Plants meeting this definition remain cultigens whether they are naturalised, deliberately planted in the wild, or grown in cultivation.

ability of plants to survive adverse growing conditions

thumb|right|275px|Grafting, 1870, by Winslow Homeran example of [[grafting]] A rootstock is part of a plant, often an underground part, from which new above-ground growth can be produced. It could also be described as a stem with a well developed root system, to which a bud from another plant is grafted. It can refer to a rhizome or underground stem. In grafting, it refers to a plant, sometimes just a stump, which already has an established, healthy root system, onto which a cutting or a bud from another plant is grafted. In some cases, such as vines of grapes and other berries, cuttings may b

measure of heating or cooling used in agriculture

Backcrossing is a crossing of a hybrid with one of its parents or an individual genetically similar to its parent, to achieve offspring with a genetic identity closer to that of the parent. It is used in horticulture, animal breeding, and production of gene knockout organisms.

thumb|right|A seedbed of rice plants A seedbed or seedling bed is the local soil environment in which seeds are planted. Often, it comprises not only the soil but also a specially prepared cold frame, hotbed or raised bed used to grow the seedlings in a controlled environment into larger young plants before transplanting them into a garden or field. A seedling bed increases the number of seeds that germinate.

waste product from brewing coffee; used to adulterate pure coffee, to grow mushrooms, to stain wood, to freshen air, to make body soap scrubs, to treat wastewater, or to make biogas

preservation of soil nutrients

taxonomic unit

thumb|260px|Transplanting an olive tree in Greece

thumb|A pomato (sold as TomTato) in a store display

right|thumb|A horizontal espalier right|thumb|Free-standing espaliered fruit trees (step-over) at Standen, [[West Sussex. The trees are used to create a fruit border or low hedge.]] Espalier ( or ) is the horticultural and ancient agricultural practice of controlling woody plant growth for the production of fruit, by pruning and tying branches to a frame. Plants are frequently shaped in formal patterns, flat against a structure such as a wall, fence, or trellis. The term is also used to refer to plants which have been shaped in this way.

thumb|300px|Girdling in Lille, Northern [[France]]

process of treating stored or collected seed by cold

thumb|upright=1.1|Groundcover of Vinca major

growing of vegetables for human consumption

thumb|Surface runoff of topsoil from a field in Iowa during a rainstorm

part of a plant genetically different from the rest

thumb|right|A rose plant that began as cells grown in a tissue culture

study of the theory and practice of the science that identifies, describes, classifies, and names cultigens—those plants whose origin or selection is primarily due to intentional human activity;one part of the study of horticultural botany

heuristic tool in phenology

right|thumb|250px|Hilling (:ja:畝|Japanese Une 畝) [[ploughed by a hoe for scallions to increase crop yields.]] Hilling, earthing up or ridging is the technique in agriculture and horticulture of heaping soil up around the base of a plant. It can be done by hand (usually using a hoe), or with powered machinery, typically a tractor attachment.

right|thumb|250px|Polytunnels on Balhungie Farm, Angus, Scotland|Angus A polytunnel (also known as a polyhouse, hoop greenhouse, or hoophouse, grow tunnel or high tunnel) is a tunnel typically made from steel and covered in polyethylene, usually semi-circular, square or elongated in shape. The interior heats up because incoming solar radiation from the sun warms plants, soil, and other things inside the building faster than heat can escape the structure. Air warmed by the heat from hot interior surfaces is retained in the building by the roof and wall. Temperature, humidity, and ventilation ca

sub-field within ecology that considers the application of the science of ecology to real-world (usually management) questions

loss of soil nutrients in agriculture

fermentation process for food waste and similar organic matter

weakening, opening, or altering the coat of a seed to encourage germination

Characteristic growth or behavior

study of the relationship between plants and the urban environment

concept in horticulture