Leggy
/LEG-ee/🧑🌾 Cultivation● Basic
Also known as: legginess, spindly, stretched, etiolated
A condition where a plant produces unusually elongated, weak stems with widely spaced leaves, typically caused by insufficient light. The plant is stretching toward available light (etiolation). Leggy seedlings are common when grown indoors without adequate supplemental lighting. Prevention includes providing sufficient light, rotating plants regularly, and pinching growing tips to encourage branching. Leggy plants are weaker and more prone to flopping over.
Etymology
English leg + -y (characterised by)
Example
“These tomato seedlings have become leggy from growing on a windowsill without enough light — the stems are thin and stretched.”