Foxtail ferns

I think that these are foxtail ferns definitely look like asparagus ferns.. Anyways, what i was wondering was would they be better off in the ground or in pots? I am in zone 8

Thanx - cody

 

Cody, they can be reasonably hard to eradicate in the ground, but I can only speak from a sub tropical perspective, you may be OK where you are

Ed

 

Not horsetails?

Is there a photo somewhere that we're discussing?

 

heres a pic of both of them

 

They look like Asparagus. Definitely not a fern of any sort.

 

Does look like foxtail fern (Asparagus densiflorus 'Meyersii'). Try searching "asparagus meyersii" for multiple online references including hardiness information.

 

Asparagus is a flowering plant, not a fern!

 

Alternative spellings include 'Myers'.

 

Its just another common name that eludes to something that it isn't...

Ed

 

anyways my question was would they be better in the ground or in pots? i wanna put them in the ground but ionno

 

Speaking of spellings, I think one has eluded you here.

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/alludes

 

Ron whats the problem with "eludes" spelling??
Or do you mean the grammar??

 

I have mine in a large wine barrel type tub. [outside all year] It has been there for many years. I am a little reluctant to let it loose as asparagus ferns that are the other indoor plant (common name) have a tendancy to nick off here and become a weed. The same thing may happen where you are.

Liz

 

You spelled "elude" correctly but used the wrong word - you wanted "allude". It wasn't spelling or grammar that "eluded" you but vocabulary :-)

Sorry to veer off-topic again! Carry on!

 

Okaaaaaaay.

I agree with Liz, keep them in a pot.

Ed

 

I do my best to kill them in my atrium, but they refuse to die. People call this a fern but as Michael correctly pointed out it has no scientific relation to any fern.

 

Common names have no relation to science.

 

Certainly seems so. Still, when someone asks, I will give the science over the common information any day. Seems strange to me to call something a fern that is not a fern. If you choose otherwise, please feel free. Its a very big world with room for both.

 

Common names can so easily be made to have a relation to science. To continue to promote the use of confusing names that state something is what it is not, is very unhelpful and anti-educational. It doesn't help anyone understand plant relationships at all, only promotes ignorance.

 

News bulletin: world is full of people using common plant names who don't care about botany.

 

This forum is also filled with people that ask for the correct name every single day. To each his own.

 

There are no correct common names. What confuses (and irritates) is when non-botanists are told they shouldn't call their Thuja plicata a cedar tree when they post asking why its leaves are turning red, or that their foxtail fern isn't a fern when what they want to know is how they might use it in their garden.

Try lecturing everyone you meet about botanical aptness of common names you hear them using and see how much it does to change common name usage on a global level.

 

You win Ron. I'm not sure why you don't like us to use correct names, but you win. This forum is after all run by a botanical garden and I believe a couple of botanists run the forum.

 

What I'm interested in is factual reality, and the factual reality is that common names and botanical names are two different occurrences. Botanical (and other scientific) names were invented to provide an alternative to common names and have been doing the job for a long time. There is no need to attempt to "botanize" common names, and such attempts are futile anyway.

 

i am sorry guys i was just askin what i shoul do with the plants i have i didnt mean for all this to happen :( so they are better in a big pots? Because i don't want it to spread and be a weed. Again i didn't mean to start a big argument i just wanted to know what to do with my plant.