When to Plant Asparagus
Plant asparagus crowns 1 to 4 weeks before your last frost.
Asparagus at a glance
- Plant
- 1 to 4 weeks before your last frost
- Time to harvest
- From the third spring
- Harvest lasts
- about 8 weeks
- Spacing
- 1 plant per square foot
- Frost
- Takes hard frosts
- Comes back
- Every year, as a perennial
Growing asparagus
Asparagus is a long-lived perennial, so choose its bed with care: full sun, well-drained soil and a spot you will not dig each year. Plant the crowns in a trench and fill it in slowly as the shoots grow. Keep the bed weeded, especially in the first years.
Dates by hardiness zone
Typical dates for each zone; your ZIP code gives your own.
| Zone | Plant | Harvest |
|---|---|---|
| Zone 3a | Apr 30 – May 21 | May 14 – Jul 9 |
| Zone 3b | Apr 19 – May 10 | May 3 – Jun 28 |
| Zone 4a | Apr 14 – May 5 | Apr 28 – Jun 23 |
| Zone 4b | Apr 10 – May 1 | Apr 24 – Jun 19 |
| Zone 5a | Apr 5–26 | Apr 19 – Jun 14 |
| Zone 5b | Apr 3–24 | Apr 17 – Jun 12 |
| Zone 6a | Apr 1–22 | Apr 15 – Jun 10 |
| Zone 6b | Mar 26 – Apr 16 | Apr 9 – Jun 4 |
| Zone 7a | Mar 19 – Apr 9 | Apr 2 – May 28 |
| Zone 7b | Mar 8–29 | Mar 22 – May 17 |
| Zone 8a | Mar 1–22 | Mar 15 – May 10 |
| Zone 8b | Feb 17 – Mar 10 | Mar 3 – Apr 28 |
| Zone 9a | Feb 2–23 | Feb 16 – Apr 13 |
| Zone 9b | Jan 4–25 | Jan 18 – Mar 15 |
| Zone 10a | Dec 27 – Jan 17 | Jan 10 – Mar 7 |
| Zones 10b–11b | Frost is rare here, so plant asparagus in the cooler months and let the roots settle before summer heat. | |
Questions about asparagus
How many asparagus plants do I need?
Plan on about ten crowns for each asparagus lover in the house. A bed that size gives a steady spring supply for many years.
When should I stop picking asparagus each spring?
When new spears come up thin, about pencil width. Let the rest grow into ferny foliage, which feeds the roots for next year.
