Asparagus question

[toonartist_98]

Hi,

Does anyone else have trouble with asparagus plants that get bent over by winds?

I planted asparagus last year and have let them fern out, but the plants get so tall (seems about 4-5 feet) that they blow over in the winds. I'm afraid this will damage the plants.

A friend told me NOT to stake them because it would make the plant weaker. But I'm thinking if the fern snaps in two before it can suck up enough energy for next year that would be worse.

Does anyone else have this problem? Any suggestions?

Thanks.

[Ann]

toonartist [e-mail] expounded:

Mine are bent over, too. This is only their second year. I'm not too worried about it, they were bent over last year and came through fine. Don't worry about it :o)

[Dwayne]

Yes. I am in Kansas and it gets blown over all the time. I just let them lay on the ground and do their thing. I have been doing that for 3 years now and am still getting a lot to eat each spring.

[toonartist]

Good to hear. Thanks for the advice!

Ann wrote:

[David E. Ross]

I stake mine because, otherwise, they block the sprinklers and get in the way of weeding adjacent areas.

My edible asparagus goes dormant in the winter, so issues about the strength of individual ferns are not important. When they yellow in the late fall or early winter, I cut them back, leaving about 6-9 inches of stubs as markers for where I should look for shoots the following spring.

[heironymous]