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Camassia leitchlinii

Also Known As

Camassia leichtlinii
Camas
Great Camas

Plant type

perennial, bulb / corm / tuber

size

H: 2'-3'
W: 1'-2'

planting zones

7a-9b

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Camassia leitchlinii plant details

Camassia leitchlinii is a broadleaf deciduous perennial bulb / corm / tuber with green foliage. In spring cream, purple and white flowers emerge. Features grassy texture. Attracts bees making it an excellent addition to pollinator gardens. Grows well with sun - mostly shade and even moisture - regular water. Prefers to be dry in summer. Does well in average and well-drained soil. A good option if you're seeking something verticillium wilt resistant.

CHARACTERISTICS OF Camassia leitchlinii

Plant type: perennial bulb / corm / tuber
Plant family: liliaceae
Foliage: deciduous green
Mature size: 1 FT - 2 FT - wide, 2 FT - 3 FT - tall
Flowers: cream, purple and white blooms in spring
Uses: cutting garden, edible, native plant, showy, summer dormant

GROWING CONDITIONS for Camassia leitchlinii

USDA Zones: 7a - 9b
Sun exposure: sun - mostly shade
Watering frequency: even moisture - regular
Resistant to: verticillium wilt
Soil needs: average and well-drained

Nursery contributed plant descriptions

Camassia leichtilinii or great camas produces elegant spires covered with masses of star-shaped blue flowers with glittering yellow anthers. This is a larger species than C. quamash. Native from BC to southern California. Camassia grow in winter-wet soils that dry out in summer which means they will be tolerant of clay-heavy garden soils.

By: Phoenix Perennials and Specialty Plants Ltd.

One of the most beautiful native bulbs of the Willamette and Umpqua valleys, very deep blue flowered. Plant in winter wet areas that dry out for the summer. Think a bakey summer spot without sprinklers or garden hoses...Parking strip? Grows to 2 feet or so in height and flowers in April and May. Frost hardy to well below 0F, into USDA zone 6. Very easy, colony-forming native wildflower for the garden border.

By: Cistus Nursery

More delicate in aspect with flowers of a softer blue, this native bulb makes ?lakes? of shimmering blue in spring (somewhat later than C. quamash) and was much prized as a food source in earlier times. S/M-W (dry in summer)

By: Forestfarm

A robust spring-blooming perennial with bright blue flowers, our native camas once clothed Oregon valleys in waves of striking color. Settlement and agriculture over the past 150 years have pushed it to marginal small pockets in wetlands, roadsides, and areas unsuited to cropping. Two ft. tall in blossom.