Grande F1 Asparagus Crowns – 5 Count 2 Year Bare Root Live Plants – Zone 3-8

Overview

Embark on a rewarding gardening journey with our premium Grande F1 asparagus crowns. These 2-year bare root plants offer a head start to establishing a productive asparagus patch, providing an early and vigorous harvest. The ‘Grande’ variety is renowned for its exceptional heat resistance, allowing it to continue producing tender, flavorful spears even when temperatures climb above 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Unlike many other varieties, it’s slow to fern out and become fibrous, ensuring a prolonged season of delectable asparagus. This robust variety also boasts excellent disease resistance, making it a reliable choice for both novice and experienced gardeners seeking to grow Grande asparagus.

Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis) is a perennial vegetable, meaning it will return year after year, offering decades of harvest with proper care. Planting 2 year asparagus crowns significantly reduces the time until your first harvest compared to starting from seed, typically yielding spears in the third year after planting. Our bare root crowns are shipped dormant, ready to awaken in your garden and establish a strong root system, leading to bountiful yields of medium-large to large diameter green spears with attractive purple tips. Prepare to enjoy the crisp, crunchy texture and subacid taste of homegrown asparagus straight from your garden.

Key Benefits

Choosing Grande F1 asparagus crowns for your garden brings a multitude of advantages, ensuring a successful and satisfying harvest:

• Extended Harvest Season: The ‘Grande’ variety is specifically bred to be an early, vigorous, and heat resistant asparagus, allowing you to enjoy fresh spears for a longer period, even in warmer climates. This means more delicious asparagus for your table.
• Superior Spear Quality: These crowns produce large yields of tender, medium-large to large diameter green spears with appealing purple tips. Their slow tendency to fern out prevents them from becoming fibrous prematurely, guaranteeing high-quality produce.
• Disease Resistance: The ‘Grande’ variety exhibits excellent disease resistance, reducing the need for chemical treatments and ensuring healthier plants and a more reliable harvest. This contributes to easier asparagus plant care and a more organic gardening approach.
• Vigorous Growth: As 2-year-old crowns, they are well-established and ready to thrive, providing a significant head start compared to younger plants or seeds. This vigorous growth leads to quicker establishment and earlier harvests.
• Perennial Production: Once established, asparagus beds can produce for 15-20 years or more, offering a long-term investment in fresh, healthy vegetables directly from your garden.
• Easy to Grow: With proper initial planting and care, asparagus is a relatively low-maintenance crop. These bare root crowns simplify the planting process, making it accessible for gardeners of all skill levels.
• Nutrient-Rich Harvest: Homegrown asparagus is a healthy addition to any diet, packed with vitamins and minerals, offering a fresh, delicious, and nutritious vegetable option.

Plant Care & Growing Tips

Proper asparagus plant care is crucial for a productive and long-lasting asparagus bed. Asparagus thrives in full sun, requiring at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight daily. Choose a location in your garden that receives ample sun and has well-draining soil. The ideal soil pH level for asparagus is between 6.5 and 7.5. Before planting, amend your soil with compost or well-rotted manure to improve fertility and drainage. Dig a trench about 6-8 inches deep and 12 inches wide. Create a mound of soil in the bottom of the trench, and spread the roots of each Grande F1 asparagus crowns over the mound.

Space the crowns 12-18 inches apart in the trench. Cover the crowns with about 2-3 inches of soil, leaving the rest of the trench open. As the spears grow, gradually fill in the trench with more soil until it is level with the surrounding ground. Water thoroughly after planting. During the first two years, focus on establishing a strong root system. Do not harvest any spears in the first year after planting. In the second year, you may harvest a few spears for a short period (about 2 weeks). By the third year, your 2 year asparagus crowns should be fully established and ready for a full harvest season (typically 6-8 weeks).

Asparagus prefers consistent moisture, especially during dry spells, but avoid waterlogging. Well-drained soil is paramount to prevent root rot. Mulching around the plants can help retain soil moisture, suppress weeds, and regulate soil temperature. Fertilize annually in early spring with a balanced fertilizer or compost. Watch for common asparagus pests like asparagus beetles and diseases; good garden hygiene and early intervention are key. This heat resistant asparagus variety is robust, but ensuring adequate water during hot periods will maximize yields. Following these guidelines will help you successfully grow Grande asparagus for many seasons.

Size & Details

This offering includes 5 dormant Grande F1 asparagus crowns, each being 2 years old, providing a robust start to your asparagus patch. These bare root plants are carefully inspected to ensure quality before shipment. When fully mature, the ‘Grande’ variety produces tender, medium-large to large diameter green spears. While individual spear length can vary, typical harvestable spears are 6-10 inches tall. The plants are perennial and, once established, will return for 15-20 years or more. They are suitable for USDA Zones 3-8, adapting to a wide range of climates. Expect your first significant harvest approximately three years after planting these 2 year asparagus crowns.

The Grande F1 variety is known for its vigor and ability to extend the harvest season due to its heat resistant asparagus qualities. For optimal growth and yield, we recommend spacing individual crowns 12-18 inches apart. This allows ample room for the root system to expand and for healthy spear production. The plant’s texture is crisp and crunchy, with a subacid taste, making it ideal for various culinary applications. These crowns are shipped dormant, ensuring they arrive ready for successful planting and establishment in your garden.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Q: How big do these asparagus plants get? A: Asparagus spears typically grow 6-10 inches tall during harvest. The fern-like foliage that develops after harvest can reach 3-5 feet in height, providing energy for the next year’s crop.
• Q: What condition will the asparagus crowns arrive in? A: Your Grande F1 asparagus crowns will arrive dormant and bare root, meaning they will have no soil. This is the ideal condition for planting and ensures minimal transplant shock.
• Q: Is this an indoor or outdoor plant? A: Asparagus is an outdoor perennial vegetable. It requires significant space and sunlight to thrive and produce a good harvest, making it unsuitable for indoor cultivation.
• Q: How much sunlight does this asparagus need? A: Asparagus requires full sun, meaning at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight per day, for optimal growth and spear production.
• Q: Is this plant easy to care for? A: Once established, asparagus is relatively low-maintenance. The initial planting and first 2-3 years require patience as the plant establishes its root system before a full harvest begins. Proper site selection and soil preparation are key to easy asparagus plant care.
• Q: How long until I can harvest from these 2 year asparagus crowns? A: With 2 year asparagus crowns, you can expect your first significant harvest in the third year after planting. A very light harvest might be possible for a short period in the second year.
• Q: When is the best time to plant Grande F1 asparagus crowns? A: The best time to plant dormant bare root asparagus crowns is in early spring, as soon as the soil can be worked and before the heat of summer.
• Q: Will this heat resistant asparagus survive winter in my zone? A: Yes, the ‘Grande F1’ variety is hardy and suitable for USDA Zones 3-8, meaning it can withstand cold winters in a wide range of climates and is also a heat resistant asparagus for warmer months.
• Q: What kind of soil does Grande asparagus prefer? A: Grande F1 asparagus crowns thrive in well-drained soil with a pH between 6.5 and 7.5. Amending with organic matter is highly beneficial.
• Q: What makes this variety ‘Grande F1’ special? A: The ‘Grande F1’ is an early, vigorous, and heat resistant asparagus variety, known for its large yields of tender spears and excellent disease resistance, making it a reliable and productive choice for gardeners.