When to Plant Asparagus: Crown Dates by Region and Zone

Plant asparagus crowns in early spring while they are still dormant: about two to four weeks before your last frost in much of the country, in January to March in the South, and not until May in Minnesota. Asparagus is a perennial, so the planting date only starts a clock that runs for years. Extension services put the first full harvest two to three years after you set out crowns.^8,9

Guides that say “two to four weeks before your last frost” treat the whole country alike. We put 13 published extension calendars next to NOAA median last-frost dates for their cities, and tested the hardiness-zone ranges that asparagus guides use against 39,904 ZIP codes that have a 2023 USDA zone.

Crowns, not seed: what goes in the ground

Most gardeners plant crowns, which are one-year-old root systems with buds. The Old Farmer’s Almanac does not recommend seed because it takes about three years to reach a harvestable plant.³ Seed adds a year at every stage: the University of Minnesota starts harvest two years after crowns and three years after seed,² and Oregon State puts seed-grown plants at about four years in total.⁴ The University of Maryland says seedlings should go out in June, after a slow start,⁷ and Utah State sows seed in January for transplanting in April.¹³

Asparagus planting dates for 17 US cities

Almanac and Oregon State both give a frost count-back: crowns go in about two to four weeks before the last spring frost (Oregon State says three to four).^3,4 The table shows that window for the NOAA median last frost of each city,¹ next to the calendar each state’s extension service publishes, where we found one. We read “early” as the first ten days of a month and “late” as the last ten. Penn State’s calendar is written for commercial growers.

The count-back window overlaps the published calendar in 8 of the 13 cities that have one. In the other five it does not overlap at all, and the published dates run from 14.9 weeks before the median last frost (Amarillo, January 1) to 6.9 weeks after it (Minneapolis, June 10).

Cold North: wait for May

Minnesota waits longest. Its median last frost in Minneapolis is April 23, so the count-back window is March 26 to April 9, but the university says:

In Minnesota, asparagus is planted between early May and early June.

It also warns that late spring frosts can kill emerged spears, so it advises a spot that is not low-lying or exposed to frost.² Penn State’s commercial guide plants in May so the ferns can grow before winter,¹⁵ and Utah State says April.¹³ Illinois Extension and Oregon State plant as soon as the soil can be worked, without a date.^14,4 Where the ground thaws late, go with the later calendar.

The dates follow the spears. The Almanac says the edible shoot emerges as soil temperatures rise above 50°F,³ and the University of Minnesota says small spears appear two to three weeks after planting, depending on rain, temperature and soil cover.² A crown set out in warm weather sends up spears quickly, which is why the late-frost warning matters most for the northern calendars.

Mid-South and South: winter planting while dormant

Farther south, crowns go in during winter. NC State’s publication is explicit:

Plant asparagus in winter, between mid-January and mid-March, while the plants are dormant.

NC State’s Wayne County office plants in late January into February in eastern North Carolina.⁶ Clemson gives March 1 to April 15 in the Piedmont and February 1 to March 15 on the Coastal Plain, and warns that crowns planted too late in spring may start sprouting before they are in the ground.⁸ Texas A&M AgriLife plants in January or February, or as soon as the ground can be worked.⁹ Maryland sets crowns out in March or April.⁷

Does your hardiness zone matter?

Zone matters, but as a limit rather than a date. Asparagus needs a cold, dormant winter, and the extension services in the South say so. UF/IFAS puts it this way:

Without a certain dormant period, asparagus has trouble putting up stalks.

Mississippi State says performance in south Mississippi is likely to be disappointing because the plants may not go fully dormant,¹¹ and Texas A&M calls asparagus best suited to the cooler areas of North and West Texas, adding that it can be grown in Dallas and Houston but produces poorly in areas with mild winters and extremely long, hot summers.⁹ UC Master Gardeners say it does best where soil occasionally freezes a few inches deep.¹²

Popular guides turn that into zone ranges that disagree. The Almanac lists zones 3 to 8.³ Bonnie Plants gives dated calendars for zones 3 to 9 and marks zone 10 and warmer “not recommended.”¹⁶ We tested that against the 2023 USDA map in our ZIP table:¹⁷

Most of the country sits inside the Almanac’s range: 83.8% of ZIP codes with a zone are in zones 3 to 8. Zone 9 holds 10.7%, and zone 10 or warmer holds 5.5%, mostly California (1,178 ZIP codes) and Florida (841 of its 1,473), with 96 in Texas and 71 in Arizona. The cutoff also moves with the map. Between the 2012 and 2023 maps, 641 ZIP codes crossed from zone 9 or colder into zone 10 or warmer (312 in Florida, 181 in California, 84 in Texas, 58 in Arizona), so a gardener in one of them can be inside Bonnie’s range or outside it depending on which map a guide uses. Another 1,076 crossed from zone 4 into zone 5, which on Bonnie’s calendar moves the planting date back a full month. Minneapolis is one: zone 4b in 2012, 5a in 2023.

Zone calendars also aren’t frost-based. In 32% of zone 5 to 7 ZIP codes, Bonnie’s March 15 to April 1 window closes more than four weeks before the median last frost, and in zone 9 that is true for 39%.

For Florida, UF/IFAS tells gardeners that asparagus grows best in colder climates; if you try it, it suggests one- or two-year-old crowns in rich soil and a wait of at least two years before harvest.¹⁰ Freezing nights are rare in 1,540 lower-48 ZIP codes, according to NOAA’s normals; there, expect the problem UF/IFAS describes, smaller and more spindly spears. For more on why zone and frost date measure different things, see planting zone vs. last frost date.

Can you plant asparagus in fall?

For a new bed in a cold-winter climate, we found no extension page that recommends fall crowns. The Almanac tells gardeners who must move an existing bed to do it in early spring while the crowns are dormant or in late fall before the first frost,³ which is transplanting, not starting a bed. UC Master Gardeners say seedlings may be transplanted in fall, and crowns are usually set out in winter or early spring.¹² A garden writer at Harvest to Table says fall planting is possible in very mild climates with good drainage, without citing a study.¹⁸ The safe use of fall is preparation. Clemson says the bed is best prepared in fall,⁸ and Texas A&M spreads compost over the planting area in late fall.⁹

If crowns arrive before the ground is ready, the University of Minnesota says to refrigerate them until planting, and Oregon State to keep them cool and moist.^2,4

How long until you can harvest?

Plan on a light cut in year two at best and a real harvest in year three. The services differ on when to start:

For a bed planted in April 2027, that means no spears in 2027, a few weeks of light picking in spring 2028 if your service allows it, and full seasons from 2029. After each harvest, leave the ferns alone: Oregon State says to let them grow so the crown stays healthy,⁴ and NC State says cutting them before frost reduces next year’s harvest.⁶

If you are also planning other perennials and early crops, our guides to strawberries, peas and onions use the same last-frost data, and you can look up your own date with the frost dates by ZIP code tool. Garlic is the fall-planted crop in the same garden; see our fall vegetable planting dates. The other vegetable guides cover the annual crops.