Walton's Plant Library

Other Names:  Emerald Fern; Basket Asparagus

Brand:  PanAmerican Seed

Description:

A beautifully mounded variety with soft, feathery like stems that trail from hanging baskets and containers; fast growing and tolerant of both shade and sun making it great for both indoor or outdoor use; low maintenance and easy to grow

Ornamental Features

FuzzyFern™ Frizz Asparagus Fern is primarily grown for its highly ornamental fruit. It features an abundance of magnificent red berries from mid to late summer. Its attractive tiny needle-like leaves remain light green in color throughout the season.

Landscape Attributes

FuzzyFern™ Frizz Asparagus Fern is a dense herbaceous perennial with a trailing habit of growth, eventually spilling over the edges of hanging baskets and containers. It brings an extremely fine and delicate texture to the garden composition and should be used to full effect.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and is best cleaned up in early spring before it resumes active growth for the season. It has no significant negative characteristics.

FuzzyFern™ Frizz Asparagus Fern is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Mass Planting
• Container Planting
• Hanging Baskets

Planting & Growing

FuzzyFern™ Frizz Asparagus Fern will grow to be about 24 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 3 feet. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 15 years. As an herbaceous perennial, this plant will usually die back to the crown each winter, and will regrow from the base each spring. Be careful not to disturb the crown in late winter when it may not be readily seen!

This plant does best in partial shade to full shade. Keep it well away from hot, dry locations that receive direct afternoon sun or which get reflected sunlight, such as against the south side of a white wall. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It may require supplemental watering during periods of drought or extended heat. This plant should not require much in the way of fertilizing once established, although it may appreciate a shot of general-purpose fertilizer from time to time early in the growing season. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in rich soils, and is able to handle environmental salt. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.; however, as a cultivated variety, be aware that it may be subject to certain restrictions or prohibitions on propagation.

FuzzyFern™ Frizz Asparagus Fern is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor containers and hanging baskets. Because of its trailing habit of growth, it is ideally suited for use as a 'spiller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the edges where it can spill gracefully over the pot. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.