New Fruits
for 2007
Asparagus
‘Purple
Passion’
Purple Passion
Asparagus
Type: perennial
Height: 2-4’
Hardiness: Zone 3-9
Light requirements: Sun to part shade
Bloom Color:
The Purple
Passion cultivar of asparagus produces a burgundy colored, low-fiber
spear with tightly oppressed bud scales and a rounded tip. The interior
spear color is creamy-green. Spear diameters are larger than green
asparagus due to the vigorous plant growth associated with the tetraploid
(4N) condition of its genetics. Green asparagus cultivars are diploid (2N).
Fern height and robustness is exceptional, as is the crown development with
storage root volumes that are nearly twice that of green cultivars.
The very
mild, sweet tasting spear of "Purple Passion" is a delight to eat.
Sugar content of the spear is 20% higher than green asparagus. The mild
asparagus taste reduces the strong asparagus odor in the urine in many of
the people who have eaten these spears.
The use of
these burgundy colored spears as a raw or cooked vegetable is equally
recommended. Spears that have been cut diagonally and mixed into a green
salad or used in a stir-fried dish are a colorful and tasteful addition.
Boiling of the spears denatures the anthocyanin pigment, leaving a deep
green, tasteful, tender spear. Al dente cooking maintains more of
the burgundy coloration accents around the bud scales and spear tip which
is very appealing.
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