| Description | Lacy Asparagus Fern (Asparagus setaceus plumosus) is an elegant, tender perennial or indoor plant with sprays of lacy horizontal fronds. It can used as a garden plant in warmer climates. |
|---|---|
| Pronunciation | (a-SPARE-uh-gus)(plu-MOH-sus) |
| Plant Type | Indoor Foliage, Perennial Tender, Site author's observations, Tropical herbaceous plants |
| Hardiness Zone | 9-11, sunset 12-24 |
| Sunlight | bright to moderate |
| Moisture | Prefers to be kept evenly moist. Occasionally letting the plant get dry won't kill it. Letting it get bone dry will cause a massive leaf drop. Over watering will also cause yellowing and leaf drop. |
| Soil & Site | average |
| Growing Media | average house |
| Temperature | Will tolerate temperatures into the mid 40s F. |
| Flowers | The flowers are small, white, waxy, fragrant, and have bright yellow/orange anthers. |
| Fruit | Fruit starts green and ripens to red. The black seeds are small to medium in size. |
| Leaves | The leaf-like structures are cladodes. These short, flattened stems resemble leaves and perform similar functions. The true leaves are small scales located near the base of the cladodes and are hard to see |
| Stems | Stems can cascade or become upright and layered. Thorns can develop along the stem and are sharp. |
| Roots | The plant rapidly produces strong root masses. Many of the roots will have bulbous fleshy masses. These can act as water storage devices. |
| Dimensions | It can reach 1.5 by 1.5 feet in warmer climates but is much smaller when grown as an indoor plant in colder climates. |
| Maintenance | As the plant ages, its roots will fill up most any size pot, pushing it out of the pot. It may need to be repotted, and some pruning is needed to control shape. |
| Propagation | The most common way is to grow from seed. The seeds are hard and black. I have germinated the seeds by directly seeding them and also soaking them overnight. Soaking seems to work best. They can also be scarified by nicking. |
| Native Site | Southern and Eastern Africa |
| Misc Facts | Plumosus comes from the Latin word "plume" because the cladodes are feather-like. |
| Author's Notes | This Asparagus fern has lacey foliage and doesn't seem to get as big as the others. It's easy to grow; just avoid very dry and very wet conditions. |
| Notes & Reference | #02-Exotic Plant Manual (Alfred Byrd Graf),#21-Indoor Gardening (Chicago Botanical Gardens Staff), #70-Indoor Plants (Courtuer and Clark),#158-Plantepedia (Maggie Stuckey), #274-Site Authors' observations and growing experiences of different Asparagus ferns |
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