to cut down asparagus ferns or not to cut

[weebleswobble]

i have about 9 young asparagus crowns that have sent up a riot of ferns. they're 2 years old, but my brother started them in planters and they didnt do well in the planters at all. most of them seemed to be dying. so this spring we transplanted them all into my raised bed garden, and they seem to be doing much better. two of the crowns i think

Comments

[mamculuna]

My experience in Zone 8 has been that even here, the ferns will turn brown in winter, so at that point I cut them. Even for big plants, I let some ferns grow as long as they are green. But I'm sure there will be answers from people who know more than I do!

[mcsassypants]

I've grown asperagus for 5 years or so and am in zone 4 like you. :) We usually leave the ferns until early in the next spring, when we cut them back mostly for convenience sake (easier to see new asperagus spears) unless they're a nuisance sooner

[beesandbrews]

I'm in zone 6/7. I cut my asparagus back in the winter after the ferns die. During the summer months after the spring harvest I let them run riot until around the first of September when they start sending up decent size stalks again. Then I cut them all back, harvest the good stuff, and let any grassy shoots regrow.

[smtfhw]

I cut mine back at the end of Autumn before they turn brown and messy looking. They seem to do just fine every year (provided I can catch the spears before they bolt anyway). I'm in the UK if that helps at all.

[virginiadear]

Conventional wisdom says to cut the "ferns" of the asparagus plants when they turn dry and brown in the fall, and---this is the important bit---get them away from the bed, either putting them into your yard waste/trash bags for collection, or onto the compost heap IF you "hot compost."

Dry, dead foliage of asparagus left on the beds over the winter makes a breeding ground for diseases to which asparagus is susceptible, so most gardeners will try to prevent trouble rather than cure it the following gardening season.