Question: My asparagus has grown so much that it is taking over my whole garden. It is tall, green, and bushy.  Should I cut it back or just let it take over the whole garden?

Asparagus

Answer: Asparagus is a hardy cool-season vegetable that can live 10-15 years or longer. It has attractive tall, fern-like foliage. A row of asparagus makes a nice garden border.  Some gardeners prefer to support the growing foliage with stakes and strings to keep it tidy.  In high wind areas, plant the rows parallel to the prevailing winds so plants can support each other.

Asparagus needs lots of space. The stems of a single clump can grow up to six feet tall and form a loose fountain. Moving your asparagus plants to another sunny area away from your “garden” will ensure that the asparagus plants will have plenty of room to spread without overtaking other plants in your garden. The best time to transplant asparagus crowns is during late winter when the plants are dormant.

You can cut back some asparagus foliage during the growing season but doing so will reduce the amount of food stored in the crown and there will be fewer spears to harvest the next season. Tender spears can be harvested for several weeks in spring. When the size of new spears decreases, allow the shoots to grow and produce leaves (go to fern) so the plant can store food in the crown for the next crop. Cut the foliage down to 2-inch stubs in winter, after freezing weather or when the foliage yellows.  Applying a layer of compost, well-rotted manure, leaves, or similar material at this time will help control weeds and add organic matter and nutrients to the soil.