Asparagus · Beijing, Beijing, China
When to plant asparagus in Beijing
Main outdoor window
27 Oct - 25 Mar
The window this page is built around.
Timed from last spring frost
8 April
In Beijing, on your chosen risk.
Ready to pick
1 Apr - 30 Jun
If you plant at the start of the window.
The average last frost. Half of all years are later than this.
Step by step in Beijing
Each window is a range, not a single day. Earlier in the range buys you a longer season; later in it buys you a safer one.
Plant crowns
27 Oct - 25 Mar
Any time the plant is dormant and the ground is neither frozen nor waterlogged: after leaf fall in autumn, or at the end of winter before growth restarts.
Harvest
1 Apr - 30 Jun
Asparagus through the year
Against the frost risk in Beijing
Why these dates
Plant dormant crowns in early spring, 20 cm deep in a trench. Cut nothing in year one, a few spears in year two, and a full six-week season from year three onwards. Let the ferns stand until they yellow in autumn - that is when the crown is storing next spring's crop.
The crown is hardy to -25C and needs a cold dormancy. Emerging spears are damaged at about -2C and turn glassy and limp; more will follow, so a frosted picking is a delay rather than a loss.
Asparagus are planted once and then left in place, so there is no sowing offset to resolve. What matters in Beijing is the shape of the year: this crop is dormant through the winter and is planted while it sleeps, any time between leaf fall in autumn and the restart of growth in spring, so long as the ground is neither frozen nor waterlogged. That is why the window below spans the cold months rather than sitting in the middle of the growing season.
Hardiness is not the obstacle here. Beijing is zone 7a, comfortably inside the range this crop is rated for, so an established plant should come through an average winter without protection.
Do not expect a crop in the first year. A plant set out now should give its first worthwhile pick around year 3, and will then produce every year after that, which is what makes the planting decision worth getting right the first time.
Also in Beijing
Other vegetables to time
Growing asparagus in Beijing
When should I plant asparagus in Beijing?
Aim for 27 Oct - 25 Mar in an average year. If you would rather not gamble on the weather, wait until 19 Oct - 6 Apr - by then frost has finished in nine years out of ten.
When will asparagus be ready to harvest in Beijing?
Expect to start picking around 1 Apr - 30 Jun, based on 60 to 80 days to maturity from the planting date calculated for this location.
How much frost will asparagus tolerate?
The crown is hardy to -25C and needs a cold dormancy. Emerging spears are damaged at about -2C and turn glassy and limp; more will follow, so a frosted picking is a delay rather than a loss.