Sprengeri Fern
Who’s Afraid of the Sprengeri Fern?
The Sprengeri fern, also known as “Sprenger’s asparagus” or “asparagus fern” is not really a fern at all. In fact, many consider it actually to be an invasive weed that you should not purchase. This is because the Sprengeri fern has a way of establishing itself in the area and pushing other species out.
For this reason, many locales advise that if you do choose to purchase this invasive weed, you should keep it indoors, so that birds make off with its attractive berries into the wild where they can do further damage. The regrets of planters from warm Southern climates that experimented with this plant in their gardens or as hanging plants on their patios pack gardening message boards. So unless you want to have this plant invade you entire yard and neighborhood, keep it indoors.
This very green looking shrubby plant is very well suited to indoor growing, so long as you keep it away from children and pets.
Beware the Sprengeri fern’s poison!
You should also be aware the Sprenger’s berries make a kind of sap that is noxious to humans. If the Sprenger’s sap comes into contact with your skin, it can cause severe irritation and even allergic reactions in some. Whenever you handle it, you should probably wear gloves to avoid this risk.
For the same reasons you will want to make sure that you keep the Sprengeri out of the reach of unsuspecting children and pets. Your safest bet is to avoid the plant altogether if you aren’t sure you can keep your loved ones away from it. However, if you simply must have this plant, be sure to keep it in hanging pots high enough to keep it out of reach of little fingers and furry paws.
Carl Ludwig Sprenger
The asparagus fern acquired the name Sprengeri’s asparagus or Sprenger’s asparagus because of the German botanist, Carl Ludwig Sprenger. Sprenger was a deaf German botanist who collected and cross-fertilized dozens of Canna species of plants in order to create dozens of new hybrids. Sprenger neither discovered nor created the fern that bears his name, however. (It was identified by Linnaeus and described by another German botanist named Kunth.) Sprenger gets credit however, for making the asparagus fern popular throughout Europe.
Despite eventually becoming the caretaker for Kaiser Wilhelm’s garden at Corfu, Sprenger would meet a bad end. First, his own botanical garden—along with the many samples he had collected over the years—went up in flames. Then, having refused to leave Corfu at the beginning of the First World War, Sprenger (aged 70) became a prisoner of war. The conditions weakened his health and eventually led to his death in captivity.
Sprengeri Fern Care and Maintenance
Asparagus fern is very easy to care for. All you really need to do is make sure that it gets enough light. So keep it by a sunny window and out of dark corners of your home.
It is basically a weed, so it will live even if you neglect to water it for a couple of days. Be careful however, or you my find that your Sprengeri is dropping all of its limbs on your carpe due to thirst.
The Sprengeri Life Cycle
The Sprengeri fern typically flowers (it has bland white flowers) in the spring. However, as summer approaches these boring flowers give way to red berries.
The reason this plant is called a fern is because of the look of its leaves and short branches, which resemble fern branches.
Planting Your Own Sprengeri Fern
It is also easy to plant more of these ferns. (In fact, many gardeners are far more interested in eradicating further growth than fostering it.) Just carefully remove the seeds using gloves to protect your hands from the irritating pus. Soak them in water for a bit; squeeze them out of their shell. Make a tiny slit in each seed and plant them in potting soil in the spring. Easy as can be.