Asparagus ‘Purple Passion’

* Common name: Asparagus ‘Purple Passion’

* Botanical name: Asparagus officinalis ‘Purple Passion’

* What it is: ‘Purple Passion’ is a disease-resistant heirloom variety of asparagus that produces purple spears rather than traditional green ones.

Besides the colorful look in the garden, this variety also is higher in antioxidants and sugar than most green varieties. Cut spears turn green when cooked.

The fine, fern-like foliage of asparagus makes it a good-looking plant in the garden in summer and fall. And it’s a perennial, meaning it comes back year after year for 15 to 20 years of harvesting from a single planting.

* Size: Plants grow three to four feet tall. Space ‘Purple Passion’ roots (“crowns”) about eight inches apart at planting – a bit closer than the 12-inch recommendation for most asparagus varieties.

* Where to use: Because plants colonize, give asparagus its own bed. A section of a large vegetable garden is ideal, but ‘Purple Passion’ is attractive enough that it makes a nice hedge or backdrop planting in any sunny part of the yard.

A site with good drainage is a must to prevent root-rotting.

* Care: ‘Purple Passion’ is usually planted from one- or two-year-old crowns in early spring. Do not harvest the first year. Allow plants to maximize energy, then harvest lightly the second spring. From the third year on, cut finger-sized spears from late April through May, then let the spears mature into ferny shoots the rest of the season.

Scatter a balanced fertilizer over the beds early each spring and again in early June after harvest ends.

Work lime into the bed before planting if the soil is too acidy. Asparagus grows best at a neutral pH of around 7. Granular lime might need to be applied each fall to maintain a neutral pH.

Let plants stand until the stems collapse after a hard frost in fall. Then cut them and compost them or shred the spent foliage and use it as mulch over the bed in winter.

Keep the beds weed-free, especially in the early going. Since asparagus is a perennial, it’ll be harder to control weed infestations than in garden beds that are cleared at the end of each season.

* Great partner: Asparagus is best grown by itself since roots will fill in and colonize to make a dense planting.