Nursery Terms & Glossary for Shade Trees and Shrubs

• Balled & Burlapped (B & B): A method of packaging trees or shrubs where the root ball is wrapped in burlap to keep soil intact during transport and sale.
• Balled and Potted (B & P): Trees or shrubs dug from the field with their root ball intact and placed into a container for sale.
• Bare-Root: Trees or shrubs sold without soil around their roots, typically during dormancy for easier transplanting.
• Caliper: The diameter of a tree's trunk, measured at 6 inches above the ground for trees up to 4 inches in diameter, or 12 inches for larger trees.
• Container: A pot or vessel, often plastic or wood, used to grow plants for easy transport and sale.
• Container Grown Plant: A plant raised in a container rather than in the ground, often sold in its pot.
• Container Size: The volume of a plant's container, indicated by numbers (e.g., #1 is about 0.734 gallons, #5 is about 3.843 gallons).
• Crown: The upper part of a tree, including branches and leaves, forming its canopy.
• Cultivar: A plant variety selectively bred for specific traits, such as size or color.
• Deciduous: Plants that shed their leaves seasonally, typically in autumn.
• Dormancy: A period of reduced activity in plants, often during winter, when growth slows.
• Evergreen: Plants that retain their leaves year-round, providing consistent foliage.
• Field-Grown: Plants cultivated in open fields rather than in containers, often dug for sale.
• Grade: A standard indicating the size or quality of nursery stock, such as #1 for top quality.
• Grafted Plant: A plant created by joining parts of two plants to combine desirable traits, like disease resistance.
• Growth Habit: The natural shape, size, and branching pattern of a plant.
• Hardiness Zone: A region defined by average minimum temperatures, indicating which plants can survive there.
• Height: The measurement from the plant's base to its tallest point.
• Medium: The material, like soil or peat moss, in which plants are grown in containers.
• Perennial: Plants that live multiple years, including many trees and shrubs, regrowing each season.
• Plug: A small seedling grown in a tray, ready for transplanting into larger pots or the ground.
• Pot-Bound: A condition where a plant's roots outgrow its container, often circling the pot.
• Root Ball: The network of roots and soil removed with a plant when dug from the ground.
• Root Pruning: Cutting roots to encourage new growth or prepare a plant for transplanting.
• Rootstock: The lower part of a grafted plant, providing the root system.
• Scion: The upper part of a grafted plant, forming the shoots and branches.
• Spread: The width of a plant's canopy, indicating its horizontal growth.
• Trunk: The main vertical stem of a tree, supporting branches and leaves.
• Whip: A young tree with no branches, often used for grafting or as a starter plant.

Container Size Specifications

Container sizes are critical for understanding plant maturity and pricing. The following table are details for standard container sizes: