Ming Fern (Asparagus macowanii)

Ming Fern
Asparagus macowanii

Asparagus macowanii with branches tied upright.

Hi. I have two ming ferns and in the winter have them in a window that receives morning to early afternoon sun. In the summer they are kepy on the deck where they receive more sunlight. The problem I am having now is some of the foilage is turning yellow. However, they are still sending out new shoots. Is this a natural pattern with the ming fern (yellowing of needles.)? What might I be doing wrong? Yours is a beauty.

This message was edited Mar 1, 2005 9:55 PM

The container that I had this Ming Fern in was very small, and I didn't realize that these plants get to be huge trees, and I let the fern get very, very rootbound. I believe this lack of water caused some branches to yellow and die. I have since repotted to a larger pot. Your fern might be getting too dry in the house and possibly too dry in its container. I would water a little more frequently and mist whenever possible. My plant is in full shade, but it can be grown in part sun.

Clare,your ming fern is beautiful.I have never seen one before.
I love how you have it in your pretty planter but will you put it in the ground,if it gets larger?

Hi Christmascactus, I did repot it from this container shown in the picture, and it was so very rootbound that I had to cut roots just to get it out. The roots are very fat and fleshy. Yes, I think it will have to go in the ground when it gets larger because I have no room for another container tree.

I know the fern in this picture would be too large-but wonder if you could bonsai one of your Ming ferns? Just a thought.

CC, this is the only one I have. Actually, I removed so many of the roots on this one when I repotted it, that it will probably remain stunted for a little while anyway. I don't know if these make good bonsai plants or not. The roots are thick and fleshy so I would guess that it would not do well in a small pot and would eventually break the pot as the roots expanded.

I guess I never realized a fern could have such huge roots.
I just know you fern is beautiful.

Thanks, CC! Actually, this Ming Fern has "fern" in its common name but is not actually related to ferns. It is the member of the Asparagus Family, which have the fleshy roots.

Thanks Clare for the information-I will look it up & learn more about your beautiful plant.

Hi Clare. Sorry it took me so long to reply and thank you for your input about my ming ferns. I am new to Dave's and I am just getting started. You were so kind to respond so promptly. Thanks again.

La101781, no problem at all and welcome to Dave's!

For everyone who is interested in this plant, I'll keep my eyes peeled for it when I visit online nurseries, and I'll post here if I find it.

Thanks for all your kind comments.