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Andreas, on sexing asparagus

>Theoretically yes, but I did not succeed in doing exactly that last year.
>Maybe the roots are too difficult, but out of 16 plants transplanted care-
>fully and with quite some labour, only one survived.

Andreas is right:  my thoughts about the biological feasibility of Elgin's
transplanting some of his mother's older asparagus plants are *purely*
theoretical.  1997 will be my first year growing asparagus!  Thanks,
Andreas, for saving us all some wasted work.

>Well, err, _that_ would not have been the problem. Since I learned to
>difference between male and female in the last decades (with success
>regarding my children), I only transplanted the male individuals... 8-]

In fact, I'm such a newbie that I need Andreas's help in learning to tell
the difference.  I understand that the female asparagus plants don't put up
very many shoots.  Are they clearly capable of being differentiated from the
males on just this one characteristic?  Or is there something else that all
knowledgeable gardeners look for as a sign of an asparagus plant's gender?
Some children come with, er, pouring spouts, you understand....  :>)

>Nevertheless, I have Jersey Knight Improved on my windowsill now, ready
>to transplant in a cold frame and in a standard (not SQFT) bed later.
>I stay tuned.

Andreas, I haven't been to Switzerland and suffer from
picture-postcard-syndrome.  That is, all I know of your country I've learned
from postcards.  When is your last killing frost in the spring?  How early
do you have to shut the outdoor garden down in the fall?

Do the Swiss and German windowbox geraniums come from normal in-the-garden
varieties, or is there a special hybrid for them?  This subject came up
briefly in the newsgroup rec.gardens last year, but I can't recall the
answer.  I've just started seed of 'Balcony Petunia,' which I believe to be
an old open-pollinated petunia with a trailing habit that would be popular
for window boxes, too.  But geraniums in boxes are my first love.

--Janet
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Janet Wintermute             jwintermute@ids2.idsonline.com
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