Camassia Blue Heaven

Camassia 'Blue Heaven' is a cultivar of this attractive perennial bulbous plant with a bushy habit, which is Camassia leichtlinii, with stunning sky-blue flowers. It produces impressive star-shaped flower spikes of a splendid light blue shade, highlighted by a small green centre and yellow anthers on medium-sized flower spikes in late spring. The flowers of Camassia open from the bottom to the top.

Camassia, also known as Quamash, is now part of the Asparagaceae family, like asparagus. Native to Oregon in the northwest United States, the plant is very hardy. It can be found in borders, rockeries, fields, as well as rocky gardens, as adapts easily. Camassia leichtlinii takes its name from the German Max Leichtlinn, a 19th-century German horticulturist specialising in bulbs. 'Blue Heaven' is a cultivar that reaches a height of 60 to 75 cm when mature. Its linear leaves are bright green and measure from 20 to 60 cm long. They form a basal tuft from which the flower stems emerge. The large open star-shaped flowers are held on flower spikes from 10 to 30 cm long. They appear in May and June. The inflorescence opens from the bottom to the top. The 4 cm in diameter flowers are composed of 6 petals that twist as they fade. Camassia is a vegetable plant that has an edible bulb, consumed by Native American tribes. However, these bulbs are not liked by rodents, which allows the plant to be among the most resistant bulbous plants like daffodils.

Camassia leichtlinii 'Blue Heaven', a plant of wet meadows in its natural habitat, grows in full sun or partial shade in cool to moist, fertile and humus-bearing soil. It tolerates slightly heavy clay soils as long as they have drainage in winter. Planted with spring bulbs such as ornamental garlic, Fritillaries or Tulips, it brings borders to life with its beautiful, large flowers. Its unsightly foliage after flowering can be hidden by perennials with foliage or later flowering, such as Geraniums in the sun or Hostas and Heucheras in partial shade. In a cottage garden, Delphiniums or bellflowers take over. You can grow Camassia in a container on a terrace or balcony. Its flowers are also beautiful in bouquets.