Whether or not you should trim your Asparagus Fern will depend on what you want to get from your plant, how well it’s been growing, the size of your plant and other factors. You can trim an Asparagus Fern, it can help with appearance and it can be beneficial to the plant so let’s jump in and take a look at trimming your fern.
As Asparagus ferns can be plants that grow relatively quickly you might find that parts of your plant grow more quickly than other and that they can get out of control in a short amount of time. You may have started with a neat little fern but all of a sudden you have bits of ferns sticking all over the place.
If this is the case then don’t hesitate to cut the fern back. If it’s overgrown you can trim your plan for a neater overall appearance. You can also trim the fern if the foliage has received sun damage or has turned brown or discoloured. Just simply cut back the area of the plan that is damaged to leave healthy green growth.
You don’t want your plant wasting resources on a dying area when it could be stimulating new and healthy growth.
What To Use To Trim Your Asparagus Fern
When trimming your fern some garden sheers or a pair of sharp scissors should do the job just fine. We like the Growneer trimming scissors as they’re sharp stainless steel and non stick.
You want to make sure that the implements are clean before pruning and that the blades are sharp to ensure a nice clean cut. If you notice rotting around where a cut has been made then use your sharp, clean scissors and cut further down the stem to get rid of the damaged part of the plant.
How Often Should I Trim?
How often your trim your fern is entirely up to you and depends on what aesthetic you’re looking for.
If your plant doesn’t suffer any damage and you don’t mind how it looks then you might just leave it to grow and see what happens.
However, if your plant has brown foliage or the appearance isn’t bushy enough then you may want to consider trimming it back much more often.
Some people will trim their fern once a year, others will leave it every three years. Just find the balance that works for you and listen to what your plant needs from you.
Top Tips For Trimming
- Make sure you are wearing shearing gloves when trimming your fern to avoid injury.
- Don’t just let your fern brown and trim it away. Try and think why is my fern turning brown? Is it getting too much sun? Too little water? Try to optimise your plant’s living conditions rather than using pruning as a solution or you might find that your plant dies.
- Light can also change how your fern grows as it will grow to try and reach light. So rather than trimming you can also change the position of your plant in terms of how much light it gets and where that light source is coming from.
So don’t hold back, if you want a neater bush then get trimming. And while you’re learning how to care for your fern check out our article on is an asparagus fern annual or perennial?
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