Climbing asparagus - delicate, but damaging!

August's pest plant of the month

area of native bush infested with climbing asparagus
An area of bush infested with climbing asparagus

Climbing asparagus is a serious pest plant!

  • It climbs through, up, and over native plants, slowly smothering them.

  • It forms dense mats covering the ground, stopping new native plants from establishing.

  • Growing quickly it can rapidly take over an area.

A dense stand of wild ginger in flower
The feathery foliage of climbing asparagus

This perfect trio of features makes climbing asparagus (Asparagus scandens) a weed to take notice of. Originally from South America, this plant really shouldn't be here and is often spread by root material being dumped - so please report any garden waste dumping!


Pulling them up when they are small can be a good way to control, but the tiny nodules in the roots often break off and stay in the ground and grow into a new plant.


Get in touch if you see it or, better still, download and report on the EcoTrack app.




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