For some people, asparagus is an acquired gustatory modality. Merely for others, information technology's part of every salad dish they fix and no BBQ or cookout is complete without its slender shoots sizzling on the grill. Those who are passionate well-nigh asparagus know at to the lowest degree a dozen recipes to fix the vegetable. But what is really interesting almost this veggie is that you lot tin mix and match the varieties non just in your oven but in the garden too.

Asparagus varieties

Some cultivars taste equally skilful as they look while others take a higher yield on average and stay productive for many years to come. So in social club to understand which asparagus varieties you tin can grow, you should know kickoff about the different types of the vegetable and why they're unlike. Read on to find out more about the types and varieties of asparagus that yous can abound in your garden.

Types of Asparagus

At offset glance, all asparagus types look almost identical. Apart from different colors, they all have the same slender shape and length. Merely a closer look tells yous that in that location'south a reason one blazon is different from another. Likewise, not all types are easy to grow in your garden. While yous can grow the dark-green or purple asparagus with 6 to 8 hours of sunlight, the white type requires full darkness to abound. Here are the chief types of asparagus.

  • Green Asparagus: The most common blazon of asparagus and the one y'all'll about likely find in your local supermarket. It has low fiber content, a smooth texture, and good flavors. Moreover, when y'all cook information technology, the asparagus will maintain those flavors. A healthy food choice, green asparagus is rich in antioxidants especially anthocyanin. Its sweetness taste is due to the higher concentrations of sugar in the young spears.
  • White Asparagus: You tin think of white asparagus as the bleached version of dark-green asparagus. Both types have the same size, shape, gustatory modality, and nutritional values. The only difference is one of them is white and the other is green. And the only reason y'all'd want to mix the dissimilar types in your garden or in your dish is to create a more than appealing visual result. Still, white asparagus doesn't similar bright lite and prefers to grow in dim to totally nighttime weather.
  • Purple Asparagus: The reason this type has a deep purple colour is because of the high content of anthocyanin. So it's by far the healthiest asparagus type you can consume for your cardiovascular system. In terms of texture, the spears of this type remain delicious and tender even when they grow long and thick. Then if you lot're looking for a sweet, tender, and salubrious asparagus, grow the purple type.
  • Wild Asparagus: This blazon of asparagus grows in the wild and tends to be thinner and less productive than the other iii. It has a more than natural taste equally information technology lacks both the high saccharide content and antioxidants that you find in the cultivated types.

Asparagus Varieties and Cultivars

Almost all the cultivars and varieties you'll come across in gardens or in the grocery stores belong to the cultivated types: light-green, white, and regal. Wild asparagus is not known for its commercial use since it has a lower yield and doesn't have the same sweet taste every bit purple varieties. The following are some of the most pop cultivars you can grow in your garden.

Apollo Asparagus

Information technology's no hush-hush that asparagus is by far the virtually reliable plant to announce the stop of winter and the advent of leap. The canes of the veggie get-go growing spears as soon every bit the conditions changes for the meliorate. But not all asparagus cultivars are created equal. Some like Apollo beat the other varieties and grow their shoots much earlier. Although it's mainly a green type with nighttime greenish spears, the tips of the shoots are usually royal.

The spears of this cultivar are commonly smooth and of medium length and thickness. Information technology grows mainly in cool zones although it can handle moderately high temperatures as well. Simply the main reason you lot'd want to abound the Apollo is because of its affliction tolerance. This cultivar resists both fusarium and rust which saves you a lot of problem. The loftier yield of this cultivar makes it ideal both for commercial growing and as a garden veggie. Yous can eat it fresh, roast it, or freeze it.

Mary Washington Asparagus

The name is a dead giveaway to the origins of this cultivar. It has been around for more than a century. And the reason for its popularity besides its high tolerance for unlike growing conditions is its delicious taste. Like nearly green asparagus varieties, the tip of the spear is usually purple. The shaft of the spear is smooth, directly, and has no kinks or blemishes.

An heirloom cultivar, Mary Washington has a decent tolerance for cold weather. Y'all tin can grow it in zones three to 8 although yous'll need to overwinter the canes to assist them survive the common cold winter months.

Besides the decent yield, the institute itself has loftier ornamental values. The foliage is lush green and the mature constitute tin can abound to vii feet tall. That makes information technology more suitable for garden growing rather than container growing. It needs between six to 8 hours of total sun although the partial sun is also fine.

Asparagus varieties white

Atlas Asparagus

Another greenish asparagus type that has a high yield and improve resistance to nearly diseases that wreak havoc with the asparagus harvest. If you live in warm zones where you get more summer than jump, so y'all'd desire to grow this heat-tolerant Atlas asparagus. The but requirement for this diverseness is 6 hours of sunlight during the growing flavor.

The mature plant grows to about v feet and then you can grow it either in the garden or as a potted plant. Equally for the spears, they are ready to harvest when they reach ix inches long. Another advantage to this cultivar is its frost tolerance. While it thrives in temperatures betwixt 45 to 85 degrees F, it doesn't crave overwintering. In short, it's an ideal cultivar to grow both in warm and cooler zones. The shoots are moderately tender as long as you harvest them before they reach their maximum length and it retains its taste and flavors after being cooked.

Jersey Giant

A cultivar that belongs to the Bailiwick of jersey Series. Information technology'south a hardy multifariousness with a remarkable tolerance for dissimilar climates. It grows well in warm zones as well as cooler ones. However, ideally, you should grow them if yous live in zones 4 to vi. The thick spears are juicy and tasty. Although technically a member of the greenish asparagus type, the shoots sometimes abound tainted with purple colors. You can get-go harvesting the spears betwixt 7 to 9 inches long. If you let them stay any longer, they get sinewy and lose nigh of their flavors and taste.

While almost members of the Bailiwick of jersey Series are resistant to many diseases, the Jersey Giant has the highest resistance for a wide variety of diseases. These include fusarium wilt, crown rot, and rust.

Majestic Passion Asparagus

Although green asparagus is more popular, purple varieties of the veggie have their diehard fans too. Information technology's the favorite type of people who like healthy food because of its high concentrations of antioxidants. But there are other reasons why you would desire to abound Purple Passion asparagus. It tastes sweeter than its light-green counterparts considering information technology has loftier sugar content and its flavors stay potent even after y'all melt information technology.

Purple Passion grows best in zones iii to 8 making information technology a hardy perennial veggie. The spears are commonly tender and you tin freeze information technology for months on cease without losing much of its flavors or smooth texture. You tin also accept information technology raw every bit a snack, cut it into salads, or roast information technology and enjoy the sumptuous gustation and purple colors. However, when cooked, the shoots lose much of their color and become pale royal to whitish.

Viking KB3 Asparagus

A relatively new cultivar that has gained popularity only recently. This cultivar stands out for 2 main reasons. The showtime is that it has a large yield and one or two plants are adept enough for each member of the household. The other reason is it'due south one of the primeval cultivars to produce spears. This makes it a natural choice for commercial asparagus growers.

The merely caveat is, yous shouldn't permit the spears grow thicker than a pencil before harvesting them. The tender shoots are tasty and succulent. Merely once they get thick, they lose many of their flavors and become chewy. On boilerplate, the maximum length to harvest the spears is x inches long.

A straight descendant of the Mary Washington variety, the KB3 is a hardy cultivar that tolerates different temperatures and growing weather condition. It'south a proficient variety to swallow in salads, although information technology nevertheless gives off good flavors and taste when roasted with garlic and olive oil.

Asparagus varieties plant growing

UC 157 Asparagus

Another relatively new hybrid that was the product of years of scientific research. When it finally appeared in 1978, it received almost instant acclamation. For one thing, the cultivar is disease-resistant which means that your harvest is rubber every year and you won't have to deal with rust or fusarium wilt, or crown rot. In improver, this hybrid tin abound in dissimilar zones and has decent tolerance for both warm and cold weather. Today, information technology has become the de facto cultivar to grow whether you're a hobbyist or a commercial grower. Near of the asparagus in the market belong to this hybrid.

The spears are lite light-green when they're mature and set up to harvest. They have mild flavors but are not very sweetness. That said, the spears tend to accept the aforementioned length, shape, and colour no matter how immature or old the institute is. Besides, it tends to sense of taste better when cooked than when eaten in salads.

Precoce D'Argenteuil Asparagus

A native of Europe, this cultivar took the European market past storm with its whitish-green spears and pink tips. It's besides one of the earliest heirloom cultivars to produce spears. It has an extra sweet taste and delicious flavors. In France, it'due south the asparagus of choice and is served in salads, roasted, sauteed, or cooked in gourmet restaurants.

If you live in zones 5 to 8, then you lot can hands grow this European cultivar in your garden. Information technology thrives with at to the lowest degree 6 hours of total sunday in the spring and summertime. When information technology matures, the plant grows to nearly 3 feet tall. Then if y'all alive in libation zones beneath 5, you tin still grow it in a container and use grow lights indoors until the last frost is over. As a perennial, yous tin can start harvesting the spears in one case the found reaches its second year.

Although asparagus comes in dissimilar types and varieties, light-green cultivars are by far the well-nigh pop. If you're looking for a healthy snack, then imperial varieties are the best for you. They pack a punch in terms of antioxidants and carbohydrate content as well.