Cutflower Nomenclature

Scientific/Botanical Name:

Genus: Asparagus

Specie: A. sprengeri (aethiopicus)

Variety/Cultivar:

English Name:

 

Common Name:

Asparagus fern

Botanical Family:

Name in Latin: Asparagaceae

Name in English: Asparagus Family

The Plant

Origin: South Africa.

Growth Habit: branching perennial herb with tough green aerial stems which are sparsely covered with spines.

Flower: small white or pinkish-white flowers are 0.3-0.5 cm long and arise in clusters off the stem

Blooming Period: spring

Leaf: leaves are actually leaf-like cladodes, which are 0.8-2 cm long and 0.1-0.2 cm wide, and arise in groups of four or more from the stem

Usage:

Ornamental Plant, foliage

Care and Handling

Soil: general potting soil

Amount of water: Keep the soil moist in the summer and barely moist in the winter

Nutrition: Feed weekly in the summer months and every two weeks in the winter with a water soluble fertilizer diluted by half.

Special handling: Does best in bright indirect sunlight coming from the North/East/West

Special feature/remarks:

The root system is a mat of fibrous roots with bulbous tubers, from which plants may re-sprout. Flowers are followed in summer by small round berries 0.5 cm in diameter, which bear a black 3 mm diameter seed. Initially green, the berries mature and turn red in the winter.