Common Camas (Camassia esculenta ‘Quamash’) - Starry Blue Spring Bulb for Damp Meadows, & Pond Edges (Peat-Free, Pesticide-Free)

A North American meadow bulb that loves moist spring soils and lights them with star-shaped violet-blue flowers in late spring. ‘Quamash’ rises in elegant spires above narrow leaves, offering nectar to bees, hoverflies and beetles just as ponds wake up. Perfect for the pond collar, damp meadow plantings and moisture-retentive borders (it’s not aquatic). Height typically 30-60 cm; clumps expand slowly and may self-seed lightly where happy. Foliage naturally fades after flowering as soils dry for summer.

Where it thrives

Light: Full sun to light/partial shade
Moisture/Zone: Pond collar / damp border / meadow; moist in spring, can dry a little in summer; plant in mineral loam—do not submerge
Setting: Naturalised drifts through rough grass, among sedges and late spring perennials; front/mid border by the pond path

Planting & care

• Plant bulbs autumn 8-10 cm deep into peat-free loam; in baskets/planters use mineral loam topped with washed gravel

• Keep evenly moist through growth/flowering; allow to dry slightly after seed set

• Deadhead to focus energy into bulbs, or leave some seedheads for gentle self-sowing

• Divide congested clumps in late summer/early autumn when dormant

Safety (important & honest):
Ornamental use only - do not ingest. Historical edible references exist, but misidentification risks with toxic look-alikes (e.g. death camas) mean we recommend no consumption. Wash hands after gardening; keep plant material and soil out of natural watercourses.

Truth-first wildlife note:
Best where soil holds spring moisture; performance drops on thin, droughty ground. Not suitable for shelves or standing water. For very wet year-round edges, choose true marginals instead.

Joel says…
“Dot camas in curving drifts at the pond collar so the blue stars carry along the path. Let the leaves die back naturally - next year’s flowers are forming inside the bulbs.”