Foxtail Fern
Care And Feeding Of The Foxtail Fern
The Foxtail fern resembles a foxtail and a fern but in fact is neither. The Foxtail fern is a member of the asparagus genus, and one of the so-called asparagus ferns. The "fern", like the asparagus plant, is actually a member of the liliaceae, or lily family, and spreads by seeds and tubers rather than by spores. The Foxtail cultivar is called meyersii, and the fern sometimes goes by the names Meyers fern, or Asparagus Myersil fern. Most often however it is advertised as a Foxtail fern.
Watch Out For The Thorns, And Don't Eat The Berries - In USDA Zones 9 though 11 the Foxtail fern is often grown as a ground cover. It grows to a height of about 2 feet, and blooms in mid summer. The white blooms are rather inconspicuous, and the plant is grown primarily for its handsome foliage. The fronds themselves, while appearing soft and "frond-like" actually contain many small and sharp thorns, so one needs to be aware of that when handling them. The plants will sometimes, though not always, set berries, red in color, and considered to be toxic. The berries are collected and dried when saving the seeds, although the plant is more often propagated by its tubers. Since the roots of the plant can spread rather rapidly, the Foxtail fern can be considered potentially invasive, and can be difficult to get rid of if masses of it have been planted.
Growing The Foxtail Fern Indoors - In most of the country the Foxtail fern is grown as a house plant, and an attractive house plant it is. It is a relatively easy plant to grow. As a potted plant it will grow to about 2 feet in height, the same as outdoors, and will eventually attain a spread of about 3 feet once it matures. A mature Foxtail fern can be quite a showpiece inside or on a patio. Unlike some house plants, this plant is not affected by many diseases or insect pests. The fronds are popular with florists as they are used as green filler in floral arrangements.
The Foxtail fern grows best in a brightly lit location indoors, although it can be conditioned to grow in moderate light, but not in deep shade or in a poorly lighted room. In general, the brighter the light, the faster the plant will grow. As a house plant it can be set outdoors during the warm summer months. It will tolerate temperatures just above freezing for short periods, but it is not frost hardy. As the plant tends to become root bound, which it will over time, it becomes more thirsty and needs frequent watering. It can be heavily watered once or twice a week, rather than every day, as long as excess water is allowed to run off. When it is not root bound however, the Foxtail prefers things more on the dry side, and can even put up with a certain amount of neglect. A monthly feeding of regular house plant food is all that is required, besides light and water, to keep the plant healthy. The Foxtail fern is not considered to be a heavy feeder, and if you miss a month's feeding, it's not going to get sick and die on you.
Easy To Propagate - If you already have a Foxtail fern and want more, simply remove the mature plant from its pot and cut off several tubers, as many tubers as you want new plants. Place the tubers in individual pots filled with a good quality potting soil and you'll soon have a new generation of attractive and low maintenance Foxtail ferns.