People who don’t garden probably also don’t think about asparagus much outside of the kitchen. But for gardeners, this unique plant can generate a surprising amount of intrigue. Recently, Reddit posts detailing one home gardener’s experience with an asparagus plant have gained thousands of views and hundreds of comments. Here are the details of this botanical curiosity, plus some strange gardening facts for home gardeners.
On April 14, Reddit user Luvnmylife presented this post to the r/gardening community. The post shows a picture of what appears to be a large asparagus plant growing out of the ground next to a tree stump. The Reddit user claims they discovered the puzzling plant after cutting down a tree and brush in their yard. In just under a week, this post gained over 700 comments, many of which agreed that the plant seemed to be asparagus. An update post on April 20 shows the plant sprouting new stalks. Now dubbed “Gus,” the plant has grown to 42 inches tall, according to the original poster.
I just found this in my yard after cutting down a tree and brush. Is this Asparagus? I’ve lived here 10 years and never seen it before.
by u/Luvnmylife in gardening
Why has this post set Reddit’s gardening community ablaze? Well, as several commenters pointed out, the plant is significantly larger than run-of-the-mill grocery store asparagus. The giant green stalk’s curious way of growing likely also captured people’s attention. As Twitter user @radtoria once put it in a 2019 tweet, “Asparagus grows like it’s trying to prank some idiot into thinking this is how asparagus grows.”
Strange asparagus plant facts
If you’re inspired to add asparagus to your home vegetable garden, you should know that these plants can get big. The star of the Reddit post isn’t an anomaly. An asparagus fact sheet from the University of New Hampshire explains that the plant’s “crown and root system can grow to an enormous size: 5 to 6 feet in diameter and 10 to 15 feet deep.”
Gardeners will also need to wait three years before they can harvest asparagus. While it grows, gardeners should keep an eye out for asparagus beetles. These pests like to nibble on the plant, which can cause scars and browning.