Bulb · Asparagaceae
Common Camas
Camassia quamash
Plant the bulbs in fall and camas lights up spring meadows in blue, then quietly steps aside for summer.
Full sun
Every 3–7 days
USDA 3–8
1–4 ft · 0.3–1.2 m
Overview
Camassia, or common camas, is a hardy North American bulb that turns damp spring meadows into sheets of blue and violet. It belongs to the asparagus family and grew wild across the West long before gardens claimed it, where its bulbs were a cooked food for Native American peoples. In a garden bed it brings that same wild-meadow look, easy to grow and content in ground that stays moist into spring.
It works on a simple yearly rhythm. The leaves and tall flower spikes push up and bloom in spring, then the whole plant dies back and rests underground through the dry heat of summer. That summer dormancy is the key to keeping it happy, because the resting bulbs want drier soil while the spring growth wants it wet.
Camas asks little once it is in the right spot. Give it sun and rich, moist soil, and it returns each spring and slowly spreads into a wider drift. The one thing to keep straight is what you are planting, since wild camas has a deadly look-alike that is covered further down.
Care
The short version: plant the bulbs in fall in full sun and rich, moist soil, keep the ground damp through spring growth, then let it dry out and rest once the foliage fades in summer.
Light
Camas flowers best in full sun, though it will take partial sun or light shade. Too much shade is the usual reason a healthy plant grows leaves but skips the blue spikes.
Water
Keep the soil evenly moist through spring while the plant is growing and in bloom, since it naturally lives in wet meadows. Once the foliage dies back in summer, ease off and let the resting bulbs sit on the dry side.
Soil
Plant in well-drained, moist, humus-rich soil with plenty of organic matter. It is not fussy about pH, settling in anywhere from 5.5 to 7.5.
Temperature
Camas is tough, hardy through USDA zones 3 to 8 and shrugging off cold down to about 10°F (-12°C). It handles ordinary garden heat up to roughly 86°F (30°C) before going dormant for the summer.
Humidity
Outdoor humidity is no concern for this bulb, so there is no target to hit. What it cares about is moisture at the roots in spring, not moisture in the air.
Feeding
Feeding is light work. Mix a balanced bulb fertilizer or some compost into the soil at planting in spring, and that sets it up for the season.
Pruning
There is no routine pruning to do. Let the foliage die back on its own after bloom so the bulb can recharge, and snip off spent flower stalks only if you would rather it did not self-seed.
Repotting
Camas rarely needs lifting and is best left undisturbed. Step in only when a clump grows so crowded that flowering drops off or the offsets start shouldering up to the soil surface, then divide it.
Size & spacing
Plants reach 1 to 4 feet (30 to 120 cm) tall once the flower spikes are up, with a clump spread of 12 to 24 inches (30 to 60 cm). Give each room to form a natural drift over time.
When to plant
Camas runs on the seasons. Plant the bulbs in fall so they root over winter, watch the blue spikes open from March to June, then let the foliage die back and the bulbs rest through summer.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Plant: Plant bulbs in fall; sow seed outdoors in fall or spring
- Harvest: Spring (March to June)
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 3–8
Temperature: down to -40°C
Troubleshooting
Camas is an easy bulb with only a couple of common complaints, and both show up either above ground as missing flowers or below it in the bulbs themselves. Match what you see to one of the two cases below and act before the problem spreads through the clump.
Soft, tunneled, or rotting bulbs underground
Mushy bulbs point to either narcissus bulb fly larvae boring through them or plain rot from soil that stays soggy through dormancy. Dig up and destroy any bulb that feels soft or holds a grub. Sharpen the drainage for summer so the resting bulbs sit dry rather than waterlogged.
Fix:
- Remove and destroy infested or rotten bulbs
- Improve soil drainage for summer dormancy
- Avoid leaving wounded bulbs in waterlogged soil
Healthy leaves but few or no flowers
Camas that grows leaves but skips bloom is usually short on light or starved by its own crowd. Move it into full sun, and lift and split clumps that have grown dense once the foliage dies back. A young plant grown from seed simply needs time, since it can take up to 3 years before its first flower.
Fix:
- Site in full sun for best flowering
- Lift and divide crowded clumps of bulb offsets after foliage dies back
- Be patient with seed-grown plants, which need several years to bloom
Toxicity
Good news on this one: true common camas is not poisonous to people, dogs, or cats, and its bulbs were long eaten as a cooked food. The catch is not the plant but its twin. Wild camas is easy to confuse with the deadly death camas, so never dig up and eat a wild bulb unless an expert has confirmed exactly what it is.
Safe for
People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Cats None
Common camas is not poisonous to cats, so a curious nibble in the garden is nothing to worry about.
Dogs None
Listed as not poisonous to dogs. A dog that digs up or chews a bulb should be fine.
Horses Safe
No toxicity is reported for horses grazing common camas.
Rabbits Safe
Rabbits can browse the plant without harm, since common camas carries no toxin.
Livestock Safe
Grazing cattle, goats, and sheep are not at risk from true common camas in the pasture.
Birds Safe
The plant poses no known danger to birds.
People Safe
The bulbs were a staple food cooked by Native American peoples and are safe to eat when correctly identified. The one real hazard is mistaking it for the deadly death camas, so never eat a wild bulb without an expert's say-so.
The true danger is misidentification: edible camas bulbs closely resemble the highly poisonous death camas (Toxicoscordion/Zigadenus). Never forage or consume wild bulbs without expert identification.
Varieties
Most camas in gardens is the straight species, but a few named selections are worth knowing for their color and habit.
Camassia quamash 'Blue Melody'
It pairs deep blue-violet flowers with cream-edged, variegated leaves for a plant that earns its keep before bloom even starts.
Camassia quamash 'Orion'
Tall stems carry deep blue flowers, which makes it a strong pick for naturalizing across a moist meadow.
How to propagate
Camas multiplies in more ways than one, from splitting the bulb clumps to letting it seed itself across a meadow. Pick the method to match how fast you want results.
Offsets & pupsEasy
After foliage dies back in summer dormancy · 1 to 2 seasons
Once the leaves have died back into summer dormancy, lift a clump and pull apart the bulb offsets clustered around the parent. Replant them in moist, humus-rich soil and they settle in over 1 to 2 seasons. This is the quickest way to build a drift.
Bulbs & cormsEasy
Fall · 1 to 2 seasons
Set dormant bulbs out in fall, in moist, humus-rich ground, and they root over winter to bloom the next spring. Give them 1 to 2 seasons to find their feet before you expect a full show.
SeedModerate
Sow outdoors in fall or spring · Up to 3 years to flower
Camas self-seeds with ease in a moist meadow, and you can sow your own outdoors in fall or spring. Patience is the catch here, since seedlings need up to 3 years to reach blooming size.
DivisionEasy
During summer dormancy · 1 to 2 seasons
Divide an established clump during summer dormancy to keep it vigorous and to spread it further. The split pieces re-establish within 1 to 2 seasons.
Myths
All camas bulbs are safe to eat because Native Americans ate camas.
Edible common camas looks almost identical to death camas (Toxicoscordion/Zigadenus), whose bulbs are poisonous and can kill. The two are easy to confuse out of bloom, when the flower color that tells them apart is gone. Never eat a wild bulb without expert identification.