I discovered some asparagus in one of my side gardens that has been growing
way too long to harvest it. I read somewhere that if you let it go, it'll
turn into a feathery fern looking plant, and that's exactly what these are
doing. Do asparagus ferns start out as an asparagus stalk?? If I let it
keep growing, will I have an asparagus fern eventually? Just curious

Angie

Asparagus are not ferns at all. They are xerophytic flowering plants. The
species grown for their ornamental foliage are not closely related to the
Asparagus officinalis grown as a vegetable and are even placed in a separate
genus named Protasparagus by many botanists. The new shoots are much too
slender to be any good as a vegetable.

Obermeyer, A.A. (1983) PROTASPARAGUS OBERM., NOM. NOV.: NEW COMBINATIONS.
S.Afr. Journ. Bot. 2 (3): 243-244.

Obermeyer, A.A. (1985) THE GENUS PROTASPARAGUS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. Bothalia
15 (3-4): 548-549.

Mathew, B. (1989) NOTES ON TROPICAL AFRICAN ASPARAGACEAE. Kew Bulletin 44
(1): 181-182.


Angela Coffey wrote in message
...
I discovered some asparagus in one of my side gardens that has been
growing
way too long to harvest it. I read somewhere that if you let it go, it'll
turn into a feathery fern looking plant, and that's exactly what these are
doing. Do asparagus ferns start out as an asparagus stalk?? If I let it
keep growing, will I have an asparagus fern eventually? Just curious

Angie

I discovered some asparagus in one of my side gardens that has been growing
way too long to harvest it. I read somewhere that if you let it go, it'll turn
into a feathery fern looking plant, and that's exactly what these are doing. Do
asparagus ferns start out as an asparagus stalk?

No, they are different species, although closely related. Edible asparagus is a
hardy species, not a suitable house plant.
Iris,
Central NY, Zone 5a, Sunset Zone 40
"If we see light at the end of the tunnel, It's the light of the oncoming
train."
Robert Lowell (1917-1977)

"Angela Coffey" wrote:

I discovered some asparagus in one of my side gardens that has been growing
way too long to harvest it. I read somewhere that if you let it go, it'll
turn into a feathery fern looking plant, and that's exactly what these are
doing. Do asparagus ferns start out as an asparagus stalk?? If I let it
keep growing, will I have an asparagus fern eventually?

Different species, same genus:

Asparagus sprengeri = decorative "asparagus fern"

Asparagus officinalis = ediblegarden kind

The garden kind makes a nice fluffy temporary hedge in the summer

Tsu

--
To doubt everything or to believe everything
are two equally convenient solutions; both
dispense with the necessity of reflection.
- Jules Henri Poincaré

Tsu Dho Nimh wrote:

"Angela Coffey" wrote:

I discovered some asparagus in one of my side gardens that has been growing
way too long to harvest it. I read somewhere that if you let it go, it'll
turn into a feathery fern looking plant, and that's exactly what these are
doing. Do asparagus ferns start out as an asparagus stalk?? If I let it
keep growing, will I have an asparagus fern eventually?

Different species, same genus:

Asparagus sprengeri = decorative "asparagus fern"

Asparagus officinalis = ediblegarden kind

The garden kind makes a nice fluffy temporary hedge in the summer

Tsu


When I had asparagus, we used to harvest it until about the end of June.
After that they have to generate the ferns in order to provide food to
the roots through photosynthesis. However, if one shoot got too big we
just cut it and threw it away and another came along soon to take its
place. If it wasn't really really big, we just peeled the tough outer
layer and ate it anyway.

I have heard that if you don't harvest the asparagus in the spring and
let the ferns grow until sometime in August, you can then cut it down
and start harvesting new shoots. I've never tried it. Anyone know if it
works? If so, you could harvest half your patch in the spring and half
in the fall.

On Thu, 17 Apr 2003 09:58:21 -0500, "Angela Coffey"
wrote:

I discovered some asparagus in one of my side gardens that has been growing
way too long to harvest it. I read somewhere that if you let it go, it'll
turn into a feathery fern looking plant, and that's exactly what these are
doing. Do asparagus ferns start out as an asparagus stalk?? If I let it
keep growing, will I have an asparagus fern eventually? Just curious

Nope. But if you cut down/clear out the ferny, fluffy bits in the fall
and top-dress generously with some nice compost, you'll have asparagus
next spring.

Several ornamental forms of Asparagus fern, the one used by florists is
mostly A. plumosus

--
David Hill
Abacus Nurseries
www.abacus-nurseries.co.uk