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David E. Ross · 27-04-2007, 01:41 AM posted to rec.gardens

wrote:
On Wed, 25 Apr 2007 18:17:32 -0700, "David E. Ross"
wrote:

|I had an asparagus bed for about 30 years. The heavy rains in the
|winter of 2004-2005 caused the plants to rot. However, they
dropped
|seeds. We picked our first crop from the seedlings this year.

They self-seeded? Nifty!

Thanks for the info on dividing & re-planting the roots. What can you
tell me about the actual technique of dividing: Where & how to cut,
what size divisions etc. Or will it be obvious when I dig them up?

I'm on Vancouver Island - zone 7 trending towards 8.

Alexander Miller.

You have to dig deep to get the crown. It will be a mass of shoots and
roots. You should be able to pull it apart after you rinse the soil
away. If you divide in the early spring, you don't need to keep a lot
of roots; just be sure to trim away any broken roots. (It's almost like
dividing bearded iris, except iris grows at the soil surface.)

Actually, asparagus don't need to be divided. However, your original
message indicated that you want to have some growing where none is
growing now. Given the heaviness of my own soil and the depth to which
I would have to dig, I would prefer to go to a local nursery and buy a
package or two of bare-root plants instead of dividing. They are not
very expensive.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening pages at http://www.rossde.com/garden/