Advice please - Asparagus

[OllieC]

I bought some crowns last week, from RHS Wisley. I bought them because I'm an idiot and they were very cheap, despite the fact that I know some of what is sold in that shop is pretty ropey (their onion sets are generally the worst around, for example).

Having now read about growing Asparagus, everything says plant immediately when bought, in March, clearly it is not possible to do both. So, I now wonder if these have been on the shelf for a year (they seem very dry) and I'm debating throwing them away and buying some more in a couple of months. Any thoughts?

Ta!

Ollie

[OllieC]

[jennym]

Examine the plants. If they are alive, there should be a hardish portion in the centre, the crown. When you snap a root, it should snap nicely and be white inside. If you aren't quite ready to plant them, keep them in a box covered with slightly moist compost or a mix of compost & sand.

[Robert_Brenchley]

Try them and see. I had some like this from Wilco's; hardly anything came up, and none of it ever produced anything. But it doesn't hurt to try.

[caroline7758]

If you really think they might be last year's stock, I would take/send them back to Wisley. I'm sure the RHS wouldn't want to get a reputation for selling rubbish!

[Jon Munday]

Lay the crowns out flat in a seed tray and cover with 2-3 cms of compost. You will see by March if they are worth planting out in the soil as new shoots should have started. A bit like chitting potatoes.
The crowns would have been lifted last Autumn and as long as they have not been frosted or allowed to dry out completly then I would think they will be ok.
If not then we have plenty of Crowns for this Spring
Regards
Jon
Blackmoor Nurseries
www.blackmoor.co.uk

[OllieC]

Many thanks to all who replied.

Jon - I don't know what I was thinking, it was a spur of the moment thing - I'd looked at yours before Christmas & intended to buy some from you. But then I got carried away whilst buying some spuds. Many thanks again!

Ollie

[Jon Munday]

Ollie
Good luck with the crowns, they are pretty tough things and should be ok
Ps Saw your post on the Raspberry, thanks
Jon

[Jeannine]

I thought it was against the forum rules to publish s link to a posters own business? XX Jeannine

[OllieC]

I'm happier with people declaring an interest... although I would be concerned if commercial interests were causing any kind of bias... part of attraction of this site is the relaxed atmosphere. You can't relax so much if you have to question whether or not you're being sold stuff the whole time. I'm just saying that I think Jon steers pretty clear of this.

[Kea]

Well I don't have anything to do with Blackmoor except that I purchased something there recently and received a quality product and lots of information on how to plant it plus I was warned in advance about the dispatch so I was ready to plant it when it arrived.

They have lots of planting information on their website.

I don't mind Jon mentioning his business, I'd rather he did rather than just say it's a good place to buy 'x' without letting us know he had an interest in it.

[grawrc]

And his advice on the asparagus seems pretty sound to me too.

[growmore]

I agree , the guy gives sound advice and he is a member of the forum.
He has answered  posts on here  when someone had  asked advice on fruit trees they had  already bought  from someone else .He went into depth re planting  and care  they should take of them.
I think it is ok that he puts his link on ...

[Barnowl]

I'd give the crowns a 15 min soaking in eater before putting them in soil.

I had some crowns that looked terrible - had forgotten about them until March, but they were in a fridge. I and a neighbour planted most of them and about 50% came up.  The problem with asparagus is that it's such a long time to the first crop you don't really want to lose a year.


PS Can also vouch for Blackmoor and Jon's advice

[Truffle]

I too think Jons advice is excellent and unbiased- perfect forum contributer! And the links a bonus  ;)

[bupster]

I bought crowns that accidentally ended up sat in the post office for weeks, weren't very happy at all. However, after planting them they perked up after a couple of months. Be very surprised if yours were complete write-offs.

[OllieC]

Well, thanks again to all.... I've put them in the unheated mini greenhouse, under a layer of moist GP compost... A couple of them had green bits on them, and a couple had clearly tried to grow in the past & then shrivelled up. But at least I'll be able to see what has any life in it in a month or two...

[froglets]

Hi Ollie, I'm an asparagus newbie & picked up some left over crowns in the bargin bin at my local garden centre in November.  I had little hope, but 50p for 2 seemed worth a punt.  I put them into the ground & they looked very dry & dusty.  I had to move them again ( doh!) at the end of Dec and there were definite signs of small white feeder roots having grown.  I can't give any advice, just a bit of hope - I garden on sandy soil but it's quite an exposed site, so there's probably hope for yours.  Mind you, having read the comments about the purple varieties, I'm now worndering where I can fit another couple in to my small corner.

Cheers