Lawn Care Glossary Iowa

aeration:
when you put air into the soil via poking holes into it or pulling cores of soil out of it.

aerification:
the mechanical removal of soil cores.

algae:
any of a group of chiefly aquatic lower plants without root, stem, or leaves, classified according to color.

aphids:
any of various small insects, such as the greenfly, that suck the juice of plants.

appressed:
lying close and flat against, as a bud against a twig.

auricle:
an ear-shaped appendage.

awnless:
without the beard or bristle-like appendage of the outer glume of numerous grasses.

axillary:
pertaining to, springing from, or situated in the angle formed by the upper side of an organ or branch with the stem or trunk to which it is attached.

blade:
a straight, narrow leaf of grass OR (usually plural) the devices on a lawn mower or rototiller that cut through the grass or dig up the thatch.

caryopsis:
a small dry fruit with the thin pericarp (wall of the ovary) adherent to the seed.

compaction:
state of being closely packed or condensed.

compost:
a mixture of decomposed organic matter for fertilizing soil.

core aeration:
when the machine takes a core of soil out via a hollow cylinder.

core aerify:
to remove cores from the soil so that the soil can receive more water and grow better. cores: plugs of soil.

crown:
the top of a plant.

de-thatching:
when the clippings/bulk are purposely removed from the lawn so that the grass can receive water more easily and grow better.

excelsior:
soft wood shavings for stuffing.

flail mowers:
a type of mower where the blades are on a cylinder (as opposed to a disk with a regular mower,) and the blades rotate from top to bottom.

floret:
one of the small flowers forming the head of a plant.

frost heaving:
a bulge in the ground or pavement caused by the freezing of moist earth.

fungicides:
substances that destroy fungi.

glumes:
the husk of grasses.

grading:
to make level or evenly sloping.

humus:
dark brown or black organic matter in the soil, formed from partially decomposed leaves, plants, etc.

inflorescence:
the producing of blossoms; the arrangement of flowers on a stem.

intensively-maintained lawns:
highly watered, highly fertilised, mowed twice a week at least. This is the truly immaculate lawn or the high-usage lawns.

lanceolate:
tapering to a point at either end.