Asparagus , Asparagus officinalis , is a long - lived herbaceous repeated veg for Zones 3 to 10 .
The plants favour full sun and a deep , well - draining layer of slenderly acidic , organically rich , sandy loam .
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When established , asparagus plants achieve fledged dimensions of up to eight feet magniloquent and four feet wide , producing bountiful spring harvest of seraphic , succulent spears measuring seven to nine inch long and three - eighths of an in across .
Ourguide to produce asparagushas all you need to eff to grow plants in your garden .
This article present 15 of the best variety to grow at home .
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Best Asparagus Varieties
1 . Apollo
2 . book of maps
3 . Conover ’s Colossal
4 . Erasmus
5 . Jersey Giant
6 . Jersey Knight
7 . Mary Washington
8 . Millennium
9 . Mondeo
10 . Precoce D’Argenteuil
11 . Purple Passion
12 . Spartacus
13 . Sweet Purple
14 . UC-72
15 . UC-157
Asparagus cultivars are available in green , purple , or greenish - purpleness .
Green character stay green when cooked , while those with regal tones will shade green . The ones with purple coloration contain anthocyanins , which have antioxidant properties .
You may have make out across white asparagus . It is not a case , but rather the result of a proficiency called blench in which spears are deprived of sunlight as they are grow .
This is accomplished by covering rows with saturnine credit card or mounding dirt against the spears to shade them , preventing chlorophyll output .
Asparagus plants are dioecious , which means that there are separatemale and female plants .
Only the females coiffure semen and tend to be less productive than their racy , high - generate male person counterparts .
When propagating asparagus seeds , you have a 50/50 luck of grow male flora . If you purchase intercrossed manly bare root segmentation , aka jacket , you will encounter mostly , if not all , Male .
Why would anyone want female plants ? Yield is n’t the only agent to consider .
Some cultivator value open - pollinated , genetically diverse heirloom varieties for their alone flavor and succulence despite the less uniform spears and modest yields .
Also , the seeded player can easy be collected for future planting .
The good quality edible asparagus spear are firm and straight , with tight crest and a smooth flavour . Growing varieties unsuited to fire up in warm geographical zone can make the tips to be loose and unlikable .
There are early , mid , and late - time of year crop variety to pick out from . Crops that mature in early give are commonly the most tender and flavorous .
And now for 19 flavor - packed selection !
too soon - maturing ‘ Apollo ’ produces smooth green spears accented by tight purple tips , cease , and bracts . The tang is earthy with the grassy tinge distinctive of asparagus .
‘ Apollo ’ is a manly loanblend . It is exceptionally cold- and heating - tolerant and resistant to Fusarium pate and root rot , as well asasparagus rust .
This cultivar matures to about three to four feet marvellous .
richly - yielding ‘ Apollo ’ date to 1984 and a genteelness program that cross California female cultivars with a robust eastern United States male person edible asparagus to achieve owing quality and measure .
‘ Atlas ’ comes from Walker Brothers of New Jersey . It is a high up - yielding other variety with unruffled green spears and a touch of purple at the bakshish that prefers warm weather .
This cultivar is resistant to blight , Cercospora foliage spot , Fusariumcrown and theme rot , and rust fungus . fledged heights are four to five feet tall .
Like ‘ Apollo , ’ ‘ Atlas ’ is a manlike cross that was bred in the 1980s using exemplary California cultivars and a vigorous eastern United States virile variety .
Cold - hardy heirloom ‘ Conovers Colossal ’ was bred in the 1860s by New York produce merchant S. B. Conover . It is still prized by asparagus growers for its abundant payoff .
plant may be male or distaff . The male spears are extra wooden-headed , measuring up to one in across .
Tender , moist , and exceptionally flavorful , the green spears blush purpleness at the ends , bract , and tips .
require a fledged superlative of three to five feet .
‘ Erasmus ’ was the first hybrid manly majestic edible asparagus . It ’s a high up - yielding option with soft , tight - leaning , deep purple spears so fresh they can be enjoyed raw .
Purple cultivars had a repute for being low producers until ‘ Erasmus ’ was bred for the United Kingdom climate and tested in 2012 .
trial reported yields twofold to treble those of other violet - hue varieties and on a par with green , to the pleasure of growers worldwide .
industrial plant do best in temperate climates with strong summers and cold winters . In the warmest zona , spears may turn green or brown . Mature superlative are up to five pes tall .
Although breeding of all the “ Jersey ” asparagus type has been discontinue , ‘ Jersey Giant ’ is still uncommitted at the clock time of this writing .
It ’s an early - time of year male person hybrid with light-green spears accented by purple bracts and a nutty flavour .
‘ Jersey Giant ’
High - yield ‘ Jersey Giant ’ is insensate - liberal and resists Cercospora leafage spot , crown rot , Fusarium wilt disease , and rust . Mature heights are four to five feet .
Jersey Giant jacket crown and works areavailable from Nature Hills Nursery .
Another discontinued but still usable option is the early - season male hybrid ‘ Jersey Knight . ’
Similar in show to ‘ Jersey Giant , ’ it produces nutty - flavour immature spears with purple bracts .
‘ Jersey Knight ’
‘ Jersey Knight ’ is perfect for humid growing zona and all ground types , including grueling or Henry Clay land . Mature heights are four to five feet improbable .
Plants are resistive to Cercospora folio spot , Fusarium diadem and root rotting , and rust .
Jersey Knight plants areavailable from Nature Hills Nursery .
‘ Mary Washington ’ heirloom multiply in the early twentieth century for rust impedance .
Spears are immature with regal tinged bracts and tip . The plant do not endure high hotness , so you ’ll need to reap when the spear are just five to seven inches in the warmest geographical zone .
‘ Mary Washington ’
matured dimensions are three to four feet improbable .
‘ Mary Washington ’ seeds , flora , and crown areavailable at Burpee .
breed in Ontario , Canada , at the University of Guelph , early - season ‘ Millennium ’ is a green - spear , cold - hardy , long - lived male hybrid that tolerates a grasp of soil types .
During trials in Michigan , it was set up to be more vigorous and richly - yielding after the first few years . As it matures , it delivers a harvest comparable in measure to a “ Jersey ” Asparagus officinales kind .
‘ millenary ’
‘ millenary ’ boasts excellent cold-blooded leeway and a enceinte number of male hybrids . Mature tallness are three to four foundation .
you may find plantsavailable at Burpee .
Early - maturing , virile intercrossed ‘ Mondeo ’ was bred in Germany .
It offers exceptional cold tolerance , disease electrical resistance , and gamey yields . The flavourful lance are green - tinged with purple at the tips and bract .
Expect a fledged height of about four foot .
‘ Precoce D’Argenteuil , ’ or ‘ Early Argenteuil , ’ is an old and prized Gallic heirloom . Hardy and former to ripen , lance are thick and flavoursome .
commercial-grade catalogue itemization of ‘ Precoce D’Argenteuil ’ date to the 1800s . It was bred from the renowned ‘ Giant Dutch Purple . ’ There are early , mid , and late - season Argenteuil varieties .
Some call this cultivar “ White Gold ” when it is blanched and only the lead are rose - violet . Unblanched , the spears are light unripened with imperial tips and bracts .
‘ Precoce D’Argenteuil ’
propagate by cum , this early variety matures to four to five foot tall over three age and has a 20- to 30 - yr life under ideal ethnical conditions .
Seeds are available from Country Creek Acres Storevia Amazon .
Heirloom ‘ Purple Passion ’ was breed from the Italian cultivar ‘ Violet di Albenga , ’ a instinctive genetic mutation that acquire purple instead of green and became a source for breed purple cultivated varieties .
It ’s a cold - hardy and heat - large-minded open - pollenate variety ; male and female plants harvest early with mellow yields .
‘ Purple Passion ’
The industrial plant are less immune to foliar disease than most hybrid green form .
However , the spears are robust in antioxidant anthocyanins and so wacky and sweet you may enjoy them raw . They are tender and dusky purple to greenish .
fledged height are three to four foot .
‘ Purple Passion ’ bleak radical areavailable at Burpee .
‘ Spartacus ’ is a male hybrid that produces gullible spears with purple tips and bracts . It is suited to realm with warm summers and cold wintertime .
It produces gamy yields and was bred to replace the “ Jersey ” diverseness . Plants are resistant to foliar diseases . ripe summit are three to four feet .
A cold - dauntless purple variety of Italian origin , ‘ Sweet Purple ’ is a sheer majestic cultivar with sweet , nutty , tender fishgig that are delicious tender .
‘ Sweet Purple ’
industrial plant may be manlike or female . This cultivar is resistant to crown rot , Fusarium wilt , and rust fungus . Mature heights are four to five foot improbable .
‘ Sweet Purple ’ crowns areavailable from reliable Leaf Market .
‘ UC-72 ’ was engender at the University of California , Berkeley , for resistivity to Fusarium wilt , warmth , and drouth conditions .
It ’s an open - pollenate cultivar with both manly and distaff plants . The uniform fishgig are green with moderately tight tips and a classifiable vulgar flavor .
‘ UC-72 ’
Also fuck as ‘ Mary ’s Granddaughter , ’ this type craw gradually in the first few long time , build to mellow fruit over its 10- to 15 - class animation .
Mature superlative are four to five foot .
‘ UC-72 ’ isavailable from True Leaf Market .
develop at the University of California , Riverside , ‘ UC-157 ’ is an other - season cultivar with manly and female plant comfortably suited to refinement in strong regions .
The green spears are smooth - textured with tight tips and a classifiable nutty flavor .
‘ UC-157 ’
have a bun in the oven a lifespan of 15 to 20 years with lower yields betimes on and increase with matureness . works are drought resistant and fend rust , Fusarium wilt , and poll and source rot .
Mature heights are four to five pes tall .
‘ UC-157 ’ isavailable from truthful Leaf Market .
Abundant Spring Harvests
With 15 delicious varieties to take from , it ’s time topull out your garden plannerand mark down your favorite asparagus cultivars .
If you found this guide helpful and require tolearn more about growing asparagus , we advocate the come after guides next :
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