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Asparagus - Mary Washington Asparagus is a valuable investment in the long term vegetable garden. It is an attractive fernlike perennial that can produce fresh tasty spears for over 20 years if the beds are well-maintained. These 'Mary Washington' crowns are best planted into well prepared free draining beds and once established are very easy to grow. Ideally the spears are left unharvested for the first two years after which time the crowns will have fully developed, providing you with an abundant harvest.
Asparagus prefers sandy soils but with the right preparation will perform very well in heavier clays. Asparagus adores seaweed and mineral fertilisers in the early spring as the spears begin to emerge.
Weed Warning: While not comparable in its weed status to its relative the Asparagus fern (A.densiforus), the common edible and very tasty ‘Mary Washington’ Asparagus has also been known to self seed. In areas where it is grown commercially you will often find a few stray plants along fence lines where the birds have had a feast on the bright red berries and deposited them perched on the fence.
Management of your Asparagus patch by the means of cutting back the clumps in mid autumn as they begin to shoot seeding ferns and mulching heavily (which is also the preferred management technique in order to achieve maximum succulent spears in the spring) will eliminate its weed potential. Gradually over time thinning out the female plants and encouraging the males, as the males do not self seed will prove a long term solution.
140mm | $9.90 AU | Seeking Propagation Material | 
| Height | Frost tol. | Pollination req'd | Evergreen/Deciduous | Harvest period |
| 1-1 | High | No | Spears | September - December |
We welcome your Tips on Asparagus - Mary Washington. Share Your Tip.
Best hilled for better drainage. Remove seed heads as it can easily become a weed in warmer areas. Delicious lightly steamed and served with extra-virgin olive oil, chopped basil and cracked black pepper. | David White - Newcastle, NSW 28-May-2006
Updated: 9th of July, 2008 at 9:19am © Disclaimer/Privacy/Copyright