Asparagus verticillatus
At a glance
- Lifecycle
- Perennial (hardy)
- Exposure
- Full sun
- Frost limit
- −23.3 °C
Cultivation
Easily grown in any good garden soil. Dormant plants are hardy to about -20°c. The young growth in spring, even on mature plants, is frost-tender and so it is best to grow the plants in a position sheltered from the early morning sun[K]. Dioecious. Male and female plants must be grown if seed is required.
Propagation
Seed - pre-soak for 12 hours in warm water and then sow in spring or as soon as the seed is ripe in early autumn in a greenhouse. It usually germinates in 3 - 6 weeks at 25°c. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in a sunny position in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer[K]. Division in early spring as the plant comes into growth.
Edible uses
Young shoots - cooked.
Habitat
Woody margins, scrub, stony places and shores.
Native range
Europe to W. Asia - Russia to Iran.