North Shore Plant Club
Wild Hyacinth (Camassia quamash)
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| Deciduous Perennial Clump-Forming, Upright in the Asparagaceae Family | |
| Note: Spring ephemerals have evolved take advantage of sunlight which penetrates deciduous forests before the trees fully leaf out and then shut down for the year by the end of spring to rest until the next year. When buying them in summer you typically won't see anything above the ground until the next April! | |
This iconic western wildflower sends up grass-like leaves and tall spikes of sky-blue, star-shaped flowers each spring. A historic food plant for Pacific Northwest tribes, it naturalizes beautifully in moist meadows and gardens alike. |
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Camassia quamash, commonly known as Common Camas, is a spring-blooming perennial bulb native to meadows, prairies, and moist grasslands of western North America, from British Columbia south through the Rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevada. In spring, grass-like basal leaves give rise to sturdy flower spikes 12-28 inches tall, each crowded with star-shaped, sky-blue to deep violet-blue flowers with six tepals and bright yellow stamens. The bulbs were historically one of the most important food sources for Native American peoples of the Pacific Northwest, traditionally pit-roasted over one to two days to convert their starches into a sweet, digestible form; the Nez Perce in particular relied on camas for both nutrition and trade. Like other camas species, Camassia quamash goes dormant by midsummer, its foliage dying back until the following spring. It is not native to the Midwest, but adapts well to garden conditions with consistent spring moisture and naturalizes readily in sunny to lightly shaded sites. |
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| Why Like | Common Camas is one of the signature wildflowers of western North American meadows and prairies, where its spikes of sky-blue flowers create spectacular seasonal blue carpets each spring across the Pacific Northwest and intermountain West. Beyond its beauty, it carries deep cultural significance: for centuries it was one of the most important food plants for indigenous peoples of the region, including the Nez Perce, who pit-roasted its bulbs and relied on it for trade and ceremony. Seeing a wild camas meadow in bloom is a glimpse of a managed landscape with thousands of years of indigenous stewardship behind it. |
Plant Data | |
| Mature Size | 12 - 28 inches tall. 12 - 24 inches wide. |
| Sun Exposure | Full Sun - Partial Shade |
| Moisture Tolerance | Medium - Wet: Needs consistently moist soil in spring while actively growing and flowering; does not tolerate drought well during this period, though it can handle drier conditions once dormant for the summer. |
| Zones | 4a - 8b (Usually hardy to -30° F) |
| Tags | Bulbs for Fall Planting, Deciduous, Full Sun, Good for Rain Garden, Low Maintenance, Medium, Native to North America, Naturalizing, Partial Shade, Perennial, Prairie Garden, Showy Flowers, Spring Ephemeral, Tolerant of Clay Soil, Wet, Wet Site Tolerant |
| Bloom Period | April to June |
| Flower Color | Blue to deep blue |
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Pricing and Availability HistoryClick a label to toggle visibility for that size
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We try very hard to source exactly what you’d like, but sometimes growers run out of plants! While this variety is a great deal at the price shown, we know that it has limited availability. If you want the plant even if it might be more expensive, or in a different size or quantity -- after you place your order, just send us a quick note at help@northshoreplantclub.com. Then, we’ll try to get you some version of this from one of our growers. And if we can’t get it from anywhere, of course, we’ll send a refund!
Plants which are well-adapted to our local climate are most often field-grown (outside). Field-grown plants are generally cheaper and have the advantage of already somewhat acclimated to our cold winters, but that means they’re not artificially far along in the spring and tend to bloom at the normal time in our area.
Spring annuals and tender perennials are typically grown in Greenhouses so they can be ready and luxurious exactly when customers want them. Some perennials are also “forced” into early bloom in greenhouses. In May, there can be a very big difference between field-grown and greenhouse-grown plants of the same type. The latter typically look good right away (so they’re a great choice where that’s important), but we typically pay a premium for it.
The cost of this recipe's ingredients will vary depending on the season and the sizes and varieties you select.
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Membership is free, but — since we rely on delivery and local pick-up — you have to live near one of our hubs (or be willing to drive to a site to pick them up). If you live farther away, and would like to help us bring the club to your neighbors, please email helpusgrow@northshoreplantclub.com.
To secure the best prices for club members and make sure we know the current plants available from each nursery, we take orders only a couple of times a month.
The next order is coming up soon. Here's a link to our ordering calendar. Shoot us an email at help@northshoreplantclub.com, and we'll be happy to talk about plants or let you know when it's time to buy them!
We order from a rotating cast of the best nurseries in the Great Lakes region. It looks like we've offered this plant in the past, but the nurseries we're working with this week don't appear to have it in stock at the moment.
Our goal is to bring as many plants together under "one roof" as possible, so we'll try hard to make it available again in the future!