Camassia

Camassia Californian quamash

Camassia is a genus of plants in the asparagus family native to North America. Common names include camas, quamash, Indian hyacinth, camash, and wild hyacinth. It grows in the wild in great numbers in moist meadows

Camassias with their tall spires of usually vivid blue flowers make a brilliant and bold display in any garden. They are tough, long-lived plants and trouble free, so they are perfect for permanent plantings in borders and by ponds, as well as for naturalising in light shade and wildflower meadows. They are great cut flowers too

Classification

• Common Names: Camassia Californian quamash

• Family:

• Variety:

Propagation Notes

• Plant Type: Bulb

• Propagation: Division

• Hardiness: Hardy H5-H1 (<-10)

• Flowering Season: Spring

Bulbs

Sow ripe seed in flats in the summer, just cover the seed with topsoil, then cover the flats with glass. The seeds of wild hyacinth and other Camassia members normally takes from one to six months to germinate. The seedlings will be ready for transplanting after two years of growth1. Start camas seed in a wide variety of container size and shape. Seeds can be evenly spread and lightly covered with sifted soil, vermiculite or other grit in a seed flat or gallon pot, and once the seed germinates in the spring the seedlings can be plucked out and transplanted into larger containers or directly transplanted in the ground2.

2024-01-04: Seed from RHS