La asparagus It is widely cultivated throughout the world since asparagus is a vegetable with great nutritional properties that can be added to all kinds of diets. It belongs to the Liliaceae family and its origin is South African. All species of the family have fine, characteristic foliage, of an intense green color and very dense.
In this article we are going to talk about the characteristics and care of asparagus as well as delve into some of the best known species.
Key features
It is a fairly resistant plant whose most curious characteristic is the shape of its roots. And it is that they have small bulbs where water is stored to supply the entire plant. This reserve of water in the roots gives it a great capacity to resist drought. For this reason, the asparagus adapted to the less rainy climate of South Africa, has been able to adapt quite well to the drought.
Flowering is not usually expected, since it is as if it were insignificant. It is not a plant that has ornamental characteristics, but rather serves more for the cultivation and subsequent consumption of asparagus. It only needs some care so that it can thrive in conditions.
The only thing it can have for decoration is that, if we take good care of it, it can have quite taut and compact fronds that will form feathery-style foliage as if they were hanging cones. Otherwise, Its main use lies in its production in agriculture and then sold and eaten.
Asparagus requirements and care
If we grow it indoors, it will need a lot of light. Therefore, the most suitable location indoors is next to a window where you can get as much light as possible. If, on the contrary, we place it in the shaded areas, the fronds will lengthen to seek the light and it cannot be a compact and dense plant as it is naturally.
Growing it outdoors is the best thing to do. In this case, the best location is semi-shade. Although the asparagus is able to withstand direct sunlight, sunlight acts by damaging the green color of its feathery foliage and turns it yellow. If you see an asparagus with a yellow color it is not so attractive. On the contrary, it seems as if the plant is sick.
As for irrigation, it does not need a large amount of water, since thanks to the bulbs in the roots they are able to adapt to fairly prolonged drought conditions. We should not water in abundance, but wait until the ground is almost completely dry. In the period of greatest development, while it is reaching its adult stage, it is more important to leave the soil with more moisture so that it always has enough water available.
Although it may not be watered for a long time, it may lose its foliage and be not the same. As the years go by it will be necessary to change the pot, since the root system will be thicker and thicker and will be able to break the pot. If we want to keep it in the original pot, we can choose to prune the roots, although it is preferable for the plant to grow as naturally as possible.
Varieties and species of asparagus
As we have mentioned before, there are some more common and well-known species of asparagus. They are sown almost everywhere in the world and are as follows:
- Asparagus plumosus: it is a plant that also comes from South Africa. It has characteristics of a climbing plant. It is capable of reaching 5 meters in height if it is in good condition and is usually always with an intense green color. It produces some very long and branched stems with some needle-like leaves.
- Asparagus densiflorusNative to South Africa, it has become so widespread that it is invasive in Hawaii. It also has an intense green color at all times, with erect, small and feathery stems. The flowers are somewhat more showy, but they do not stand out for their ornamental power either. They are pinkish white. If the skin comes into contact with its sap, it can cause irritation. Berries are toxic.
- Asparagus acutifolius: Originally from Europe, it is capable of reaching one and a half meters in height if it is in good condition. It pollinates its flowers through anthophylls and they are pale yellow in color. Its leaves are evergreen.
- Asparagus officinalis: native to Western Europe, it is capable of reaching up to 1,5 m in height and 75 cm in width. It also uses anthophiles to pollinate its dioecious flowers. It is capable of attracting wildlife.
- Asparagus sprengeri: it is another species of African origin. It does not usually reach very great heights, at most about 60 cm. Its flowering is insignificant and not at all showy. It blooms all summer long and they don't last long, just a few weeks. It is quite widespread to grow in pots, indoors and even on balconies.
- asparagus horridusNative to Southern Europe, it doesn't have much information about its flowers, but they are ivory in color and hints of purple. Unlike all others, this plant is scented.
Farming
We are going to focus on the cultivation of asparagus that produces asparagus. They are plants that usually have different shoots. From each root that remains during the winter, new shoots come out and they are the asparagus that we eat. The harvest time is in winter. With something that gives them the sun in spring they become green and edible.
These kills They have small flowers with little red balls that contain the seeds. Each ball has between 4 and 5 seeds. We can divide the asparagus by dividing the bush and spreading the roots. It can also be made from seeds. The most important thing to do with seeds is that the soil we are going to use has a little sand.
We place each portion of substrate and introduce the seed not very indoors so they can germinate properly. The care is the same as we have mentioned above in the care section.
I hope this information has helped you to know more about asparagus.