Camassia is a tough spring - blooming bulb that deserves to be more wide screw and grown .
Grant Webster
We all know and love daffodil and tulips in our spring garden , but it’scamassiathat ’s a consistent visitor favourite in theBHG Test Garden , says Test Garden manager Sandra Gerdes . The tall purple , blue , or white blossom spikes of this less vernacular fountain - blooming bulb have a bold garden presence at a time when other plants are just beginning to bourgeon up . Besides its eye - catching flowers , camassia has several other aesthetic and practical quality that Gerdes appreciates . Here ’s why camassia should be a principal in your garden too .
Credit:Grant Webster
1. Camassia is a native plant.
Also jazz as quamash or crazy jacinth , camassia can be get growing wild in moist meadows and open woodlands in Washington , Oregon , and share of California . Unlike most pop spring - blooming bulbs such as tulip and daffodils , camassia is part of the North American ecosystem . Thisbulb ’s flowers are a valuable nectar source for early season pollinators .
2. Year-after-year performance.
One of the most reliable spring - flowering bulbs , camassia consistently sends up its green , grasslike leaf in spring , followed by tall flower spikes . Many type of tulip be given to last only a yearor perhaps two in the garden . Daffodils are know to keep blooming well for a few year , but you’re able to numerate on camassia ’s peak power for much longer .
3. Tolerates moist soil.
Camassia maturate equally well in average , well - drain soiland moist , somewhat impenetrable ground . Most bulbs wo n’t do well in territory that remain moist during summer but camassia revel in the surroundings . This is an specially cracking medulla for new home web site where the soil might be slow to drain .
4. Deer don’t bother it.
Deer , rabbits , and other rodents short-circuit camassia . Plant in declamatory drifts of 10 or more bulb in the dusk for a brilliant bound color show that wo n’t be destroyed by your local deer herd . Pair camassia withyellow or white daffodils , another deer resistant bulb , for more colouring .
5. It naturalizes well.
Camassia multiplies and spread over time to form colony of springtime color . Encourage it tonaturalize in a hayfield gardenby found bulbs 5 inch aside in grouping of 10 or more . Strappy , grasslike camassia foliage will rise in early spring before most other meadow plants . The leaf plays a vital office in recharge the incandescent lamp and creating midget offshoot . Delay pout or disturbing camassia leafage until it turn yellowed . In time the thumping will reproduce .
6. Eye-catching flower spikes.
stand 24 to 30 inches tall when in flush , camassia rises above most daffodils and tulips . The blue , violet , or white flower stalks are covered with dozens of wizard - shape bloom . When implant in drifts , camassia is trance from a long space , which guarantees you ’ll revel view them just as much from inside the theater as you will in the garden .
7. Flowers for weeks.
In the Test Garden in Iowa , which is in USDA Hardiness Zone 5 , varieties ofCamassia leichtliniiandCamassia cusickiibegin bloom in mid- to late April andCamassia quamashstarts bloom in late May . " By planting different variety , you’re able to enjoy camassia blooms for about a month , " Gerdes says .
8. Pairs well with perennials.
Plant clump of camassia alongsideperennials for a steadfast sequence for flowers . While the perennial are just beginning to poke out of the ground in leap , camassia is beam up its foliage and flower spike . When camassia polish off blossom , nearby perennials will be quick to take over the bloom show . For perennial that bloom at the same time as camassia , Gerdes recommendssalvias , veronicas , andlate - blooming alliums .
9. Springtime flower for cutting.
Long stem and long - lasting flower make camassia a delightful cut blossom . The star topology - shaped flowers open up sequentially from the bottom to the top of the stem . Harvest flower stem when the first few blossoms are unresolved . The remaining flowers on the chaff will unfold over the next week in the vase .
10. No division needed.
Unlike daffodils and many perennial plants , camassia does n’t want dividing as it ages . Start off right by planting bulbs5 inches asunder and 5 inch deep . Then camassia will naturally multiply without overcrowding , and continue flowering for decades where you have embed it .
