Hi there,

I have an asparagus fern - house plant. I know it's not really a fern but it's the best way to describe it.
It's grown a lot over the last year and taking up a lot of space. I was thinking of cutting it back but don't want to kill it.
Can you just prune these plants or is best not to do anything with it.
Thanks

On Mon, 18 Aug 2008 01:26:42 +0100, jimba1
wrote:


Hi there,

I have an asparagus fern - house plant. I know it's not really a fern
but it's the best way to describe it.
It's grown a lot over the last year and taking up a lot of space. I was
thinking of cutting it back but don't want to kill it.
Can you just prune these plants or is best not to do anything with it.
Thanks


If you find something bad to do with these, let me know. I've been
trying for years to get rid of one in the ground. I don't think
anything can hurt them. within reason, I guess, in a pot letting them
go dry for a year or so might cause them distress.

I'd just cut it back as you desire.

cut them back should not kill them. but, you can see if the yield is
smaller next year. I've heard of people who run over them with a lawn
mower and no problems. Also, heard that in the SW United States, they
burn the bushes in the dry season to force the spears to grow.

Simon



jimba1 wrote:
Hi there,

I have an asparagus fern - house plant. I know it's not really a fern
but it's the best way to describe it.
It's grown a lot over the last year and taking up a lot of space. I was
thinking of cutting it back but don't want to kill it.
Can you just prune these plants or is best not to do anything with it.
Thanks




--
jimba1

On 8/17/2008 5:26 PM, jimba1 wrote:
Hi there,

I have an asparagus fern - house plant. I know it's not really a fern
but it's the best way to describe it.
It's grown a lot over the last year and taking up a lot of space. I was
thinking of cutting it back but don't want to kill it.
Can you just prune these plants or is best not to do anything with it.
Thanks


Water it thoroughly. Then take it out of the pot. With a pruning saw
or sharp knife, cut the root ball in half. Discard half. On the other
half, trim about an inch from the ends of the cut and from the bottom.
Repot, adding some fresh potting mix. Cut the top back. Within a month
or so, it will recover and look great.


I did this several times. But the plant kept shedding and making a
mess. Also, it was interfering with the other potted plants in my
greenhouse window. About two months ago, I trashed the whole thing
(keeping the pot, of course).
--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening pages at http://www.rossde.com/garden/

prune it anyway you like even right to the ground, these plants are bulletproof and can be very invasive when in the right environment.

Well, thank you all. A few suggestions, I will go and perform some surgery.