PlantsVegetables & Roots
Asparagus
Asparagus officinalis
Zone 6a garden plant. Hardy through a Chicago winter unless the note says to pot it.
Perennial spring spear for a permanent bed
ModerateVegetables & RootsEdible
- Light
- Full sun
- Moisture
- Medium
- Mature size
- 4–5 ft
- Spacing
- 18 in
- Bloom or harvest
- Spears Apr–May; fern all summer
- How it spreads
- Perennial crown
- What to buy
- One-year crowns.
- When to plant
- Plant crowns in April, in a bed you will not till.
In the design
A bed lasts 15 years. Don't put it where you might build a shed.
If you eat it
Young spears
Eat spears only. The fern is not food. Don't harvest the first year.
Only eat what you planted and can name. This is not a foraging or medical guide.
