×
  • Home
  • Daily
    • Buyers Guides
    • Composting
    • Container Gardening
    • Easy Healthy Recipes
    • Food Preservation
    • Garden Design
    • Garden Tools
    • Gardening LIfe
      • Animals in the Garden
      • Funny Business
      • Gardening History
      • Gardening Humor
      • Gardening Mishaps
      • Gardening Poems
      • Gardening Romance
      • Gardening Science
      • Gardening with Kids
      • Healing Gardens
      • Joy of Gardening
      • Mystical Gardens
      • Ornamental Gardening
    • Growing Fruits & Berries
    • Indoor Gardening
    • Pests & Diseases
    • Seeds & Seedlings
    • Soil & Fertilizer
    • Spice & Herb Gardening
    • Vegetable Gardening
    • Watering & Irrigation
  • Freebies
  • Videos
  • Magazines
    • Food Gardening Magazine
    • GreenPrints Magazine
    • RecipeLion Magazine
  • Books
    • GuideBooks
    • Cookbooks
      • Beverages
      • Bakery
      • Breakfast
      • Appetizers
      • Salads & Dressings
      • Soups
      • Entrées
      • Side Dishes & Sauces
      • Desserts
    • Story Collections
    • StoryBooks
    • Recipe Collections
  • Kits
    • Garden Calendars
    • Garden Plans
    • Recipe Cards
    • Greeting Cards
    • ArtPrints
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Affiliate Program
  • Sponsor Program
  • Give a Gift
  • Privacy Policy & Terms of Use
  • Authors
  • GreenPrints Writer’s Guidelines
  • Keyword Index
  • Join
Celebrating 5 Years of Food Gardening

Food Gardening Network

Growing food, fun & more

Give a GiftJoin
Mequoda Publishing Network
  • Daily
    • Buyers Guides
    • Composting
    • Container Gardening
    • Easy Healthy Recipes
    • Food Preservation
    • Garden Design
    • Garden Tools
    • Gardening Life
      • Animals in the Garden
      • Funny Business
      • Gardening History
      • Gardening Humor
      • Gardening Mishaps
      • Gardening Poems
      • Gardening Romance
      • Gardening Science
      • Gardening with Kids
      • Healing Gardens
      • Joy of Gardening
      • Mystical Gardens
      • Ornamental Gardening
    • Growing Fruits & Berries
    • Indoor Gardening
    • Pests & Diseases
    • Seeds & Seedlings
    • Soil & Fertilizer
    • Spice & Herb Gardening
    • Vegetable Gardening
    • Watering & Irrigation
  • Freebies
  • Videos
  • Magazines
    • Food Gardening Magazine
    • GreenPrints Magazine
    • RecipeLion Magazine
  • Books
    • GuideBooks
    • Cookbooks
      • Beverages
      • Bakery
      • Breakfast
      • Appetizers
      • Salads & Dressings
      • Soups
      • Entrées
      • Side Dishes & Sauces
      • Desserts
    • Story Collections
    • StoryBooks
    • Recipe Collections
  • Kits
    • Garden Calendars
    • Garden Plans
    • Recipe Cards
    • Greeting Cards
    • ArtPrints
  • Sign In
  • Search

Mary Washington Asparagus (Green asparagus)

Gardening Guide: Asparagus—King of the Garden

arrow-left Previous
Next arrow-right

Mary Washington Asparagus (Green asparagus)

In this Plant Profile, get specific details, including the characteristics and best uses of Mary Washington asparagus, one of our Plant Profiles featured in our Asparagus Collection.

By Norann Oleson

Mary Washington Asparagus

Mary Washington Asparagus

For more than a century, Mary Washington asparagus has been a favorite among U.S. gardeners. This traditional heirloom variety has a delicious flavor, with green spears and light purple tips—a real classic. Mary Washington also offers feathery, graceful foliage and can tolerate partial shade. Though heirloom asparagus varieties take a little more work to get started, Mary Washington asparagus will reward you with bountiful yields for years to come.

Sun Exposure

  • Full to partial sun (six to eight hours)

Soil pH

  • 7.0 to 7.2

Hardiness Zones

  • 3 to 8

Spacing

  • 12 inches apart

Moisture

  • Water deeply 1 inch a week; do not let soil completely dry out

Notes

  • Long green spears with purple tips
  • Graceful green, feather foliage
  • Plant grows to 7 feet, spears to 8 inches
  • Produces male and female plants
  • A traditional asparagus that is delicious any way you serve it

Do you grow Mary Washington asparagus? Do they thrive in your garden? Please tell us about your Mary Washington asparagus.

arrow-left Previous
Next arrow-right

Tags

asparagus, heirloom asparagus, heirloom variety, mary washington asparagus

Comments
  • Carole B. November 8, 2023

    This is the 1st year I have grown MW Asparagus, and it has grown well, but now winter is quickly approaching and I don’t know how I should winterize it. The feathery stalks are very long; should I cut them back? Can I plan on eating any of the stalks in the second year of growth, or wait until the third year?

    Reply

Click here to cancel reply.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Asparagus: King of the Garden

TABLE OF CONTENTS

  • Curator’s Corner
  • Introduction
  • Feature Articles

  • Growing Zones for Asparagus
  • Types of Asparagus Plants
  • Growing Asparagus in Open Land, in Raised Beds, or in Containers
  • Starting with the Right Soil for Your Asparagus Plants
  • Planting and Pruning Asparagus
  • The Right Sunlight for Your Asparagus Plants
  • Should You Fertilize Your Asparagus Plants?
  • How—and When—to Water Your Asparagus Plants
  • How to Spot, Treat, and Prevent Asparagus Diseases
  • What to Do About Pests that Can Harm Your Asparagus Plants
  • The Right Way to Weed Your Asparagus Patch
  • How to Harvest Your Asparagus
  • Essential Tools and Equipment for Growing and Enjoying Asparagus
  • The Best Type of Asparagus to Grow: Green, Purple, or White?
  • Growing and Enjoying Asparagus: 5 Do’s and Don’ts
  • 10 Tips for Growing and Harvesting Asparagus
  • Plant Profiles

  • Pacific Purple Asparagus (Purple asparagus)
  • Mary Washington Asparagus (Green asparagus)
  • Apollo Asparagus (Green asparagus)
  • Precoce D’Argenteuil Asparagus (White asparagus)
  • Purple Passion Asparagus (Purple asparagus)
  • Jersey Giant Asparagus (Green asparagus)
  • Recipes

  • Roasted Asparagus with Baked Sheet Pan Eggs
  • Healthy Cream of Asparagus Soup
  • White Asparagus with Butter and Chives
  • Easy Asparagus Stuffed Chicken
  • Asparagus Ice Cream
  • Grilled Asparagus with Parmesan
  • Asparagus and Goat Cheese Bruschetta
  • Purple Asparagus Salad
  • Additional Articles

  • Nutrition Facts about Asparagus
  • Home Remedies & Health Benefits of Asparagus
  • Resources about Asparagus
  • Asparagus Glossary
  • Related Articles

  • 7 Perennial Vegetables You Can Plant and Harvest Forever
  • Why Asparagus Takes So Long to Harvest

Enter Your Log In Credentials

This setting should only be used on your home or work computer.

  • Lost your password? Create New Password
  • No account? Sign up

Need Assistance?

Call Food Gardening Network Customer Service at
(800) 777-2658

Food Gardening Network is an active member of the following industry associations:

  • American Horticultural Society
  • GardenComm Logo
  • GardenComm Laurel Media Award
  • MCMA logo
  • Join Now
  • Learn More
  • About Food Gardening Network
  • Contact Us
  • Affiliate Program
  • Sponsor Program
  • Give a Gift
  • Privacy Policy & Terms of Use

Food Gardening Network
99 Derby Street, Suite 200
Hingham, MA 02043
support@foodgardening.mequoda.com

To learn more about our Email Marketing and Broadcasting Services, Exchange Program, or to become a marketing partner with any of our publications, click here to contact us at Mequoda Publishing Network.

FREE E-Newsletter for You!

Discover how to grow, harvest, and eat good food from your own garden—with our FREE e-newsletter, delivered directly to your email inbox.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Powered by
Mequoda Publishing Network
copyright © 2025 Mequoda Systems, LLC

Food Gardening Network®, Food Gardening Magazine® and GreenPrints® are registered trademarks of Mequoda Systems, LLC.