| Description | Mazeppa Emerald Fern (Asparagus densiflorus) looks very similar to the typical Asparagus Fern but is shorter and more compact. |
|---|---|
| Pronunciation | (ass-SPAR-uh-gus)(den-sif-FLOR-us) |
| 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 | It prefers to be kept evenly moist. Occasionally letting the plant get dry won't kill it, but letting it get bone dry will cause a massive leaf drop. Overwatering 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 | Produces pendulous stems covered with small linear leaf-like structures called cladodes. |
| Roots | The plant rapidly produces firm root masses. Many of the roots will have bulbous, fleshy masses. These can act as water storage devices. |
| Dimensions | It can reach about 2 feet in length. |
| Maintenance | As the plant ages, its roots will fill most pots of any size, pushing themselves out of the pot. It may need to be repotted, and some pruning is required 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 | Native to tropical and subtropical parts of eastern and southern Africa, where it grows in coastal areas and woodlands. |
| Cultivar Origin | Collected in Africa and distributed initially by Kirstenbosch Botanic Gardens |
| Misc Facts | It is possibly derived from 'a-'= intensive and sparassa = to tear, referring to the sharp spines of many species. The species name of densiflorus refers to how the small flowers are densely packed along the plant stem. |
| Notes & Reference | #274-Site Authors' observations and growing experiences of different Asparagus ferns |
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