わきめ
noun
side shoot; axillary bud; lateral bud
1. side shoot; axillary bud; lateral bud
A bud or shoot that grows from the angle between a leaf and the stem, rather than at the tip. Gardeners often pinch these off to direct the plant's energy.
脇芽(わきめ)()んだ。
I pinched off the side shoots.
トマトは脇芽(わきめ)をこまめに()ると()(おお)きくなる。
If you regularly remove a tomato's side shoots, the fruit grows bigger.
(おも)(えだ)()ると、その(した)から(あたら)しい脇芽(わきめ)()びてくる。
When you cut the main branch, new side shoots grow out from below it.

Composed of (わき) (side) + () (bud). A gardening and botany term.

COMMON COLLOCATIONS:

  • 脇芽(わきめ)()む / ()る: to pinch off side shoots
  • 脇芽(わきめ)()る / ()びる: side shoots emerge / grow

SIMILAR WORDS:

  • 新芽(しんめ): new shoot — any fresh bud, not specifically a lateral one
  • 頂芽(ちょうが): terminal bud — the bud at the very tip of a stem