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Asparagus fern is aptly named

Question: I recently purchased an asparagus fern, which, after a few weeks of tender loving care, has decided to go bonkers. It is sending up spikes of growth with little or no leaves on them. Should these be trimmed or left alone and see how they end up?

If these spikes look like a spear of asparagus, then that is normal and why it is called an asparagus fern. These spikes will "fern out" just like an asparagus spear and will be bushy again. Just be patient and observe.

Bob Morris is a professor emeritus in horticulture with the University of Nevada and can be reached at extremehort@aol.com. Visit his blog at xtremehorticulture.blogspot.com. For more advice, see Thursday's Las Vegas Review-Journal.

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