The purple color does wash away when fully cooked, but the spears are about the size of Jersey Knight. Purple Passion does have both male and female plants so yields will be less than with the all-male hybrids. Many gardeners still have older cultivars such as Mary Washington and Martha Washington in their planting. Though not as productive as some of the newer cultivars, these old standbys can remain productive for many years. A crown is the compressed stem and attached root system of a young asparagus plant raised from hybrid seed.
Gardeners can plant asparagus from seed.
However, caring for the small seedlings until they become established can be time consuming. Also, because the seeds are spaced a few inches apart, the crowns will have to be dug and transplanted to their permanent, wider-spaced location in the garden after one year. Thus, one year of potential spear production is lost due to transplanting. There is no advantage to planting the crowns in cold, wet soils. Plant the asparagus at either the west or north side of the garden so that it will not shade the other vegetables and will not be injured when the rest of the garden is tilled.