Seeding Glossary

Here are the terms you’ll come across in our seeding guides, on our seed labels and on our species pages.

Bulk weight is the total weight of seed material in the bag, including inert matter and non-viable seed. Compare it with Pure Live Seed.

Bulking agent is an inert carrier, such as sand, clay kitty litter, rice hulls, sawdust or vermiculite, that’s mixed with small seed so it spreads evenly.

Cool-season grass is a grass that grows mainly in spring and fall and slows down in summer heat.

Cultipacker is a ridged roller used to firm a seedbed and press seed into the surface.

Dormant seed is viable seed that won’t germinate until a requirement, such as a cold period or a softened seed coat, has been met.

Dormant (frost) seeding means sowing in winter, roughly December to March, so that freeze–thaw cycles work the seed into the soil.

Ecotype (local ecotype) describes a population of a species that is adapted to the climate and soils of a particular region. Most of our plants and seed come from seed we collect ourselves, so they are local-ecotype.

Forb is a broadleaf, non-woody flowering plant, as opposed to a grass or grass-like plant.

Germination rate is the share of seed that sprouts during a standard seed test.

Graminoid covers grasses and grass-like plants such as sedges and rushes.

Hemiparasite is a plant that photosynthesizes but also draws water and nutrients from the roots of a host plant.

Inert matter is the chaff, stems, soil and other non-seed material in a seed lot.

Inter-seeding means sowing native seed into existing desirable vegetation to increase its diversity.

No-till drill is a seed drill that cuts through residue and places seed without the soil being tilled first.

Nurse crop is a fast, short-lived grass sown with a native mix to give quick cover. See Cover & Nurse Crops.

Pure Live Seed (PLS) is the share of a seed lot that is pure, viable seed of the labeled species, calculated as purity × total viability. See PLS & Seeding Rates.

Purity is the share of a seed lot, by weight, that is seed of the labeled species.

Rhizobia are soil bacteria that live in nodules on legume roots and fix nitrogen.

Scarification means nicking or abrading a hard seed coat so that water can get in.

Seeding rate is the amount of seed sown per unit of area, written as PLS pounds per acre or PLS seeds per square foot.

Solarization means killing vegetation by trapping the sun’s heat under clear plastic.

Stratification means exposing seed to cold, moist (and sometimes warm, moist) conditions to break its dormancy. See the germination guide.

Total viability is germination plus dormant seed, meaning all the seed in a lot that is alive.

Warm-season grass is a grass that grows mainly in summer heat and greens up late in spring.

Wetland indicator status rates how likely a species is to occur in wetlands. See Wetland Indicator Status.