Heirloom Variety
Mary Washington Asparagus stands as one of the most enduring green asparagus varieties, with over a century of proven performance in American gardens. This heirloom perennial thrives in zones 3 through 9, producing uniform medium spears year after year once established. The variety is renowned for its disease resistance to rust fungi, a trait that saved it from the crop failures that devastated early 20th-century American asparagus farms. While it takes patience, typically 2 to 3 years before meaningful harvests, Mary Washington rewards that investment with a productive bed that can sustain your family for 15 years or longer.
Full Sun
Moderate
3-9
60in H x ?in W
Perennial
Moderate
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Mary Washington earned its reputation the hard way: it was bred specifically to survive the asparagus rust epidemic that ravaged American crops in the early 1900s, and it succeeded so thoroughly that it became the gold standard for green asparagus. Beyond the spears, the plant gifts you with elegant fern-like foliage each summer that looks beautiful in flower arrangements. The spears reach a harvestable 6 to 9 inches with pencil-size diameter, and the variety produces a heavy, reliable yield once it matures. Growing this variety means you're tending a living piece of agricultural history while stocking your kitchen with tender, flavorful asparagus.
Mary Washington asparagus spears are harvested fresh and prepared in countless ways: steamed, grilled, roasted, or blanched as part of composed dishes. The tender spears are rich in essential vitamins and minerals, making them a nutritional staple for home gardeners and chefs alike. Beyond the kitchen, the plant's feathery fern-like foliage that develops after spring harvest is graceful enough for bouquets and flower arrangements, giving the plant dual ornamental value in the garden.
True Leaf Market notes that Mary Washington Asparagus crowns are shipped in February to March for spring planting, suggesting early-season transplanting. If starting from seed indoors, begin 6 to 8 weeks before your last spring frost.
Transplant crowns or seedlings outdoors in early spring, after soil can be worked and the risk of hard frost has passed. Space plants 18 inches apart in rows 18 inches apart. Prior bed preparation in the previous season ensures optimal soil conditions. Johnny's Selected Seeds recommends completing soil testing and bed preparation in the season prior to planting.
Begin harvesting in the third year after planting. In year one, no harvest is taken; in year two, harvest for 7 to 10 days in spring; by year three and beyond, harvest for up to 6 weeks during the spring season. Snap spears over by hand until they break naturally, or cut just below the soil surface with a sharp knife. Harvest spears that are approximately 6 to 9 inches in length and pencil-size or larger in diameter. Cease harvesting once spears become thinner than pencil-size, signaling the plant's need to build reserves for next season.
Allow the fern-like foliage to grow fully after the spring harvest concludes, as this photosynthetic growth feeds the crown for next year's production. Cut the dried fern to the ground in late fall after frost has killed it back. Do not cut spears during the first two years after planting; begin light harvesting in year three.
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“Mary Washington was born from crisis. In the early 1900s, a fungal disease called asparagus rust travelled from Europe to the Americas, devastating the U.S. asparagus crop and threatening an entire industry. Plant explorer and breeder J.B. Norton, working at the USDA alongside a group of Massachusetts asparagus growers, took decisive action. He collected seeds from asparagus plants across the East Coast and Europe, trialling varieties to identify which possessed natural resistance to the rust fungus. From this deliberate breeding program, Mary Washington emerged as the clear winner, combining disease resistance with excellent flavor and productive capacity. For more than a century since, it has remained the benchmark variety against which all other green asparagus is measured, passed from generation to generation in home gardens and commercial farms alike.”