Cutting back Asparagas

Hello,
I live in zone 9 on the Gulf Coast of Texas. When is the best time to cut the ferns back on asparagas? I would appreciate your help.
Thanks
Larry2

Hi Larry,
Welcome to DG! I wish I could help you, but I'm in zone 4 and we leave our ferny tops on until spring. They help catch the snow to get the asparagus off to a moist start in the spring. I'm sure it's different in TX though.

I'd wait 'til they are fully dead and browned, larry. As long as they are green and growing let them grow and absorb good ol' Ma Nature's energy from the sun.

I tend to leave ours all winter so they act as a mulch. In the later winter/early spring I'll mow over them to let the sun warm up the soil and start the growth process going. That is also a good time to sprinkle on a thin layer of compost and let the rains water it in for ya.

By the way, a hearty Welcome to DG!

I realize no one has commented on this question from within zone 9. I live in zone 9a and find that many of my plants don't go dormant over the winter. We just don't get that many freezing days and for the days we do, a blanket or some kind of cover on the sensitive plants may be necessary. I have tomatoe and bell pepper plants from last summer! So cutting back on the asparagus may not have to be done. I am attempting various asparagus types, my first time with asparagu, and I am wondering if I have to cut them down if they don't die back.

Anyone got a clue? Thanks.

Datasmate...sorry, I'm not your zone 9 expert. However, there are many times when our winters (Zone 7) are very mild and I witness plants either going semi-dormant or just stop growing. Some stay green and "actively alive" but tend to not put on new growth. This is true of asparagus also.

If I were you I wouldn't bother cutting them back if they are still green. (Oftentimes mine are still green in February/March!) The plants will react to the daylengths and slow their growth (or stop growth). This gives them a chance to "catch their breath" before continuing with new fresh growth in the Spring.

Normally, people will cut the top growth only because it is dead and/or an eyesore (to them) and they've been trained/told to clean up your garden. (Cleaning up your garden residue could be important though, especially if there are symptoms of disease on the plants that may carry over via plant debris.) There have been years when the topgrowth on my asparagus has died normally and, because I'm the lazy sort, I don't worry about it. I bet there have been more years I've let it be than I've bothered to clean it out!

I think you're fine leaving it to grow. After all, the more sun the green plant gets, the more energy it absorbs; the more energy it absorbs/stores, the more spears next year! Yay!

Shoe.

"I know it is recommended to cut the tops of asparagus in late November to force dormancy before sprouting and harvesting begins in early spring. Cold in some areas is not sufficient to kill the tops and cutting is to physically force dormancy"

Quoted from: http://plantanswers.tamu.edu/vegetables/asparagu.html

There is also good infor here:http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/easygardening/asparagus/asparagus.html

To answer your question datasmate, Yes, you do have to cut them back in the fall to force dormancy - so they say at the extension agency in Texas.

-Kim