[SusieB]

Some of my asparagus plants have one spindly spear on them, thinner than a pencil.  Do I take these off in the hope it'll grow fat spears? 

Or is that the best I'm going to get and I need to leave them on to grow into ferns, to beef up for next year?

They have been growing for 4 years now, but a couple of those years, the weather has not been good.

[DD.]

Did you grow them from seed?

I hate to say this, but the thin weedy ones are usually the less productive male plants and they won't improve with age!

If they were bought roots, they should be female and it may be the growing conditions.

[RaptorUK]

Did you grow them from seed?

I hate to say this, but the thin weedy ones are usually the less productive male plants and they won't improve with age!

I've planted a bed of all male F1 hybrids, my understanding is that the females will make seed so tend to be less productive . . .  hence the all male varieties.

Perhaps these plants have been over cropped too early ?  and just need a seasons rest.

[JayG]

This year I dug up one of my 2 rows of 5 asparagus plants, partly because I don't really have the space for such a luxury crop, and partly because in around 10 years one of the plants only ever produced spindly spears.

Unfortunately I can't tell you whether it was male, female, or even what variety (could have been any one of about 4) and just to add to the confusion (I am trying to help, honest  ) one of the remaining plants which has produced some very thin and feeble spears over the years has eventually grown much stronger.

Best advice, if they are all the same variety, and known to all be male plants, is hope the underperformers just need building up a bit - feed them, allow the ferns to grow, and hope for better things next year.

[DD.]

Got that the wrong way round, didn't I?

[SusieB]

Thank you, just what I needed to know. 

They are from roots, so should be all male.  I just wasn't sure if sometimes they start the season spindly, then get fatter, so I was taking the spears off, so they'd grow more.  Now I know this is not the case I will leave all spindly spears on.  I wish I'd asked early and not cut off the ones I already have   It is still early in the season so hopefully will have time to build up for next year. 

I have quite a few plants growing fat spears, so is not too much of a hardship.

Thanks everybody.

[Goosegirl]

I bought mine as male ones from a reputable nursery but mine are a mixture of spindly ones plus some fat ones. I wasn't able to look after them last year as I should but fed them this year. And when the ferns grow, they look to have yellow "berries" on them - I thought that only females did that?

[JayG]

Male plants have flowers too GG - learned article HERE (if you get more than half way through it you'll have done better than I did!  )

[Goosegirl]

Mmmm - understood most of it, but will have to look later on re- type of flower that is produced. Methinks last year's neglect has a lot to do with it.

[RaptorUK]

Got that the wrong way round, didn't I?

I thought you did    but I didn't want to say so in a blunt way 

[RaptorUK]

Male plants have flowers too GG - learned article HERE (if you get more than half way through it you'll have done better than I did!  )

Yep,  Male plants have flowers with Male parts,  Females have flowers with Female parts . . .  and only the Females produce red berries.

How to tell the flowers apart . . .



from here:  http://aesop.rutgers.edu/~asparagus/program/male.html