Glossary of gardening terms - P:

Parasite
A parasite is a creature that lives off another living organism.

Peat moss
May refer to any peat formed from moss, but most generally refers to sphagnum peat moss, a peat formed from a type of moss called sphagnum. Of available potting soils for African Violets, those consisting of almost all peat moss are the most highly recommended.

Perennial
It stunts plants, but A non-woody plant that lives for more than two years. It usually dies down in winter and the surface of the s regrows the following spring.

Perlite
A mineral which has been chemically to form white, lightweight, porus granules useful in container soil mixes.

Perennials
Unlike annuals these flowers continue to bloom year after year. As a group, they are very hardy. They bloom from early spring to autumn with summer being their peak season. They make excellent ground cover and hardy pot plants. Most enjoy full sun. Divide the perennials in your garden every three or four years and do this job in autumn.

Pinching
To remove the twigs and branches by pinching with your index finger and thumb to make the plant bushy.

Plant classification
A standard system for grouping and naming plants. They include such descriptors as family, genus, species, variety, strain, hybrid.

Pleaching
A method of training a plant so that the branches are interwoven together to form a plait.

Pollarding
A pruning style that cuts back branches to one or two bud growths a season so that the tree produces a large, shady canopy in summer and has a knobbly gnarled appearance in winter.

Potbound
A plant that has remained in a container for so long that the roots have been forced to grow in a circle.Frequent repotting will prevent this.

Pseudobulbar
An above-the-ground modified stem found on some orchids.