when I spoke to the guy from Seeds of Italy he said the delay in sending asparagus this year was due to the mild weather.
He said that they go dormant at low temperatures allowing them to be dug up and moved - if kept cold they will stay dormant and unharmed until they warm up. If they are kept somewhere warmer they will start to grow shoots and the danger is that the new growth is vunerable to frost and could die back stunting the plant and risking disease.
They keep them in refrigerated storage until required - sometimes for a couple of months
Glow