Camas (Camassia quamash)

Name: Camas (Camassia quamash)
Brand: BC Native Plants
Price: 0.01 CAD
Availability: InStock

Sunlight:

Full Sun
Partial Sun

Soil Type:

Well-Drained
Moist

An iconic, culturally significant plant with edible bulbs that served as a staple food for Indigenous peoples, distinguishing it from the poisonous Death Camas by its blue-purple flowers. Established plants are considered drought-tolerant, as they go dormant in the summer when the soil typically dries out. A crucial staple food for Indigenous peoples of North America, who cooked the bulbs in earth ovens for long periods to convert inulin to fructose, common camas also has several traditional medicinal applications, including as a cough medicine and to treat digestive issues.

Sun: thrives in full sun to part shade and prefers moist, well-drained soil, especially during its active growth in winter and spring, though it must dry out during summer dormancy.

Soil: thrives in seasonally moist meadows and grasslands that have well-drained soils that become dry by summer, tolerating both vernally moist conditions and dry periods, and often found in sunny sites with nitrogen-rich soil. It can even grow in heavier, wetter clay soils that flood in winter, as long as there's good drainage overall.

Height: Most common camas plants stand between 20 cm and 70 cm (8-28 inches) tall. The smooth flowering stem (scape) can reach a height of 20-70 cm (8-28 inches).

Spread: typically spreads to a width of 1 to 2 feet (30-60 cm), though this can vary, growing from bulbs that multiply and can self-seed into surrounding areas, creating impressive displays over time, especially in its native moist meadows of western North America.

Garden Design:

Camas is one of the few bulbs that tolerates moist soil during its spring growing season, making it ideal for areas near ponds, streams, or in rain gardens/bioswales, provided the bulbs are not waterlogged.

Camas makes the strongest visual impact when planted in large groups or naturalistic drifts, creating a "sea of blue" effect when in bloom. Aim for at least 10-15 bulbs per cluster, spaced about 6 inches (15 cm) apart.

For effective garden design with common camas (Camassia quamash), focus on mass planting, companion choices that fill the post-bloom void, and leveraging its tolerance for specific, often tricky, conditions. Common camas goes dormant by mid-summer, its foliage yellowing and dying back after flowering. To avoid gaps in the border, interplant with later-emerging perennials, annuals, or ornamental grasses that will fill the space once the camas fades.

Bloom Times:

April
May
June

Pollinator Support:

Bees
Butterflies

Grows Well With

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