The camassia flower's spiky petals on spear like stalks give a sharp angular counterpoint to the many smoothly rounded bloom and leaf shapes in the garden. Blue, purple or white multiple blooms adorn each stalk.
Popular species include: camassia quamash (or small camas), with a mature height between 10 and 30 inches, camassia cusickii, with blue-green foliage that grows up to 36 inches, camassia leichtlinii (or large camas), which grows to 36 inches or more, and camassia scilloides (or wild hyacinth), which averages a height of 24 inches.
Plant these fast growing charmers, 6 inches deep and 8 inches, apart in the fall for late spring to summer blooms. Camassia tolerates moister soil than many other flowering bulbs. Choose a soil rich in organics in a sunny location that dries out more slowly rather than quickly. Remove the foliage after it begins to yellow, earlier than that disrupts its energy collection for the bulb's next season's blooms. Bulbs prefer to be undisturbed and are not suitable for container plantings.
This North American and Canadian native makes a great additions to wildflower areas, used as taller border plants, and as a favorite cut flower for fresh bouquets. Even though these tubers were once used as a food source, remember that most portions of this plant are poisonous and should not be consumed.