How to read a plant label
Light, hardiness zones and the plant's real name
Two names on one tag
Most tags show a common name and a botanical name. Common names are unreliable: one plant can have several, and one common name can belong to quite different plants. Mountain laurel has a handful of other names, for example, while tea can mean several unrelated plants.
The botanical name is the most dependable way to identify a plant, so use it to look up care and safety.
Reading a botanical name
The first word is the genus, with a capital letter. The second is the species, all lowercase. Both are usually written in italics.
A name in single quotes is a cultivar, a selected variety, as in Epipremnum aureum 'Marble Queen'. An x in the name usually marks a hybrid. Names do change now and then as botanists learn more, so older tags may show an older name.
Sun and shade
Light needs are shown as words or symbols. Here's what the usual terms mean.
- Full sun: 6 or more hours of direct sun a day.
- Part shade: direct sun for only part of the day, about 2–6 hours.
- Deep shade: less than 2 hours of direct sun.
- Dappled shade: sun filtered through tree leaves all day.
Size and life span
Mature height and spread tell you how big the plant will get, not how big it is now, so space it for its full size.
Annuals live one season. Biennials take two. Perennials come back for years.
Hardiness zones
Outdoor plants list USDA hardiness zones. The map is based on the average coldest winter temperature, in zones 10°F (5.6°C) apart, each split into a and b halves. A plant is hardy in a zone if it survives that cold.
Zones don't measure summer heat; there's a separate heat zone map for that. Treat your zone as a starting point, and check local advice too. Extension plant databases add more detail, including whether a plant is poisonous.
Sources
- NC State Extension: Extension Gardener Handbook, 3: Botany
- NC State Extension: Extension Gardener Handbook, 11: Woody Ornamentals
- NC State Extension: Plant Toolbox: Epipremnum aureum
- NC State Extension: Extension Gardener Handbook, 19: Landscape Design
General guidance, not a diagnosis. Written by PlantWiz in our own words from the sources above.