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Asparagus (Bundle of 25) | Spring 2027
$99.99
Reliable shipping
Flexible returns
Ripening
Will it finish before your first hard freeze?
Check it on the Ripening Map (opens in a new tab)
Disease resistanceNo strong resistance
- 2 Fusarium crown rot : Susceptible, 2 of 5
- 3 Rust : Moderate, 3 of 5
Scored 1 to 5. Higher resists better, and ? means no published data yet.
See it on our perennial vegetable disease chart (opens in a new tab)At a glance: Asparagus is an asparagus crown rated hardy to zone 3 in our ratings (winters to -40°F), needs no pollination, and it ripens about May 9 to Jun 29 in Missoula (our Missoula estimate).
| Hardy to | Zone 3 to 9. A bare number means the whole of zone 3, colder half included (winters to -40°F). Find your zone with our cold hardiness calculator. |
|---|---|
| Chill hours | Little or none (0 to 200 hours). Our estimate. No published figure exists for this variety yet. It comes back fine after any winter. Check your chill hours or see our sources. |
| Pollination | No Pollination Needed. Asparagus plants are male or female, but the spears you harvest are young shoots and need no pollination at all. The small summer flowers on the ferns get some bee visits, but asparagus is not an orchard pollenizer. Bloom group is our estimate from the variety's origin and relatives. Pollination Charts. |
| Ripens | About May 9 to Jun 29 in Missoula (a Missoula estimate from published sources). Real years swing about a week either way. See the date for your town. |
| Good for | Perennial vegetable (9/10), canning and freezing (7/10). Scores are our own 1 to 10 ratings; 8 and up makes our Best Of lists. |
| Deer | Seldom badly damaged by deer. |
| What you get | Bare root, Mary Washington or Jersey Knight or Purple Passion. Shipped or picked up in Missoula in spring, roots wrapped in moist sawdust. Guaranteed to bud out. |
We are offering three of our best performing asparagus in Montana—Mary Washington, Millenium, and Purple Passion.
Mary Washington
A classic heirloom variety known for its reliable yields and resistance to rust. Hardy and well-suited for zones 3–8 (even zone 2 if properly covered in 1 ft of straw or wood mulch).
Jersey Knight
A top-performing, all-male hybrid known for its high yields and disease resistance. Produces thick, tender, flavorful spears with excellent cold hardiness and tolerance to rust, crown rot, and fusarium. Vigorous and dependable, it thrives in a wide range of climates and is ideal for northern growers seeking a long-lived, productive asparagus patch. Hardy to zone 3 or even zone 2 if properly covered in mulch over the winter (1 ft of straw or wood mulch).
Purple Passion
This vibrant purple asparagus is tender, sweet, and less fibrous than green varieties,. Excellent for fresh eating. The others steam better though in our experience. Hardy in zones 3–8, it performs well in most soils. Can be grown in zone 2 like the others if properly covered with 1 ft of straw or wood mulch over the winter.The color is striking.
Questions we get about Asparagus
How cold hardy is Asparagus?
We rate Asparagus hardy to zone 3, which means winters down to about -40°F. Our ratings come from real winters at our two Montana sites and from trusted growers across the North, not from a catalog average.
How many chill hours does Asparagus need?
Little or none. Asparagus doesn't depend on winter chill to come back (our upper bound is 200 hours). Nobody has published a chill figure for it, so that's our estimate from its relatives and origin. Asparagus has no real chill requirement. Winter cold just puts the crowns to sleep, and it's a big commercial crop in Peru and Mexico. Our chill hours guide has a calculator for your winters, and our research page lists the sources.
When does Asparagus ripen?
About May 9 to Jun 29 in Missoula, Montana (an estimate built from published sources and our climate). Warmer places run earlier and cooler places later; our ripening map converts the date to your town.
What is Asparagus good for?
Our top use scores for Asparagus are perennial vegetable (9/10), canning and freezing (7/10). Anything scored 8 or higher makes our Best Of lists.
Is Asparagus disease resistant?
Not really. It holds up moderately well against rust. It's prone to Fusarium crown rot. Our perennial vegetable disease resistance chart has every rating, the notes and the sources.
Will deer eat Asparagus?
Not badly. Deer may nibble Asparagus, but they seldom do real damage.
What arrives, and when does Asparagus ship?
A dormant bare-root plant, roots wrapped in moist sawdust with a vapor barrier, shipped or picked up in Missoula in spring. Sizes offered: Mary Washington or Jersey Knight or Purple Passion. We guarantee our plants bud out. Stone fruits can be slow, so if one still has not budded out by August 15, write to us and we credit you for the following spring.