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Asparagaceae FAMILY

Asparagus tenuifolius

Asparagus tenuifolius

Edibility
2/5
Medicinal
0/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitPerennial
Growth—

Asparagus tenuifolius is native mainly to the northern Mediterranean region, though it also moves further north into Europe. It generally experiences hot, dry summers and cool, moist winters. It can probably tolerate winter temperatures dipping occasionally to at least as low as -5 and -10°c and would probably succeed outdoors in the milder regions of the temperate zone[1]. We hve no specific information for this plant, but species in this genus are generally easily grown in any good garden soil[1, PFAF]. Prefers a rich sandy loam[2]. A dioecious species, both male and female forms need to be grown if fruit and seed are required.

Propagation

Seed - pre-soak for 12 hours in warm water and then sow in spring or as soon as the seed is ripe in early autumn in a greenhouse. It usually germinates in 3 - 6 weeks at 25°c[3]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in a sunny position in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer[PFAF]. Division in early spring as the plant comes into growth. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Asparagus+tenuifolius>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

  1. [1]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  2. [2]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  3. [3]Growing from Seed. Volume 2. — Rice. G. (Editor) · Thompson and Morgan. · 1988 · ISBN - ↩︎Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. An interesting article on Ensete ventricosum.
  4. [4]Flora of the USSR. — Komarov. V. L. · Israel Program for Scientific Translation · 1968 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org · ISBN - ↩︎An immense (25 or more large volumes) and not yet completed translation of the Russian flora. Full of information on plant uses and habitats but heavy going for casual readers. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
  5. [5]Plants for Human Consumption. — Kunkel. G. · Koeltz Scientific Books · 1984 · ISBN 3874292169 ↩︎An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of Latin names with a brief list of edible parts.
  6. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎