Oregon · Washington · Idaho
When to plant camas
Plant in fall: Portland and Seattle Oct 1 – Nov 15; Spokane Sep 25 – Oct 31; Boise Oct 1 – Nov 1; Bend Sep 20 – Oct 20.
Your dates in
Camas is a native bulb with spikes of blue to violet star-shaped flowers in spring. Its bulbs were a staple food for many Northwest tribes, who tended camas meadows and slow-roasted the bulbs in earth ovens. Don't eat bulbs dug from the wild: poisonous death camas grows in the same places and looks similar before it flowers.
Puts camas on your free plan, with dates for your town and a spot in your beds.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Sun
- Full sun to light shade
- Spacing
- 4 to 6 inches apart in groups
- Planting depth
- 4 inches deep, pointed end up
- Frost
- Fully hardy; needs winter cold to bloom
- First harvest
- Blooms in April and May
The native blue lily that once colored Northwest prairies every spring. Unlike most bulbs it tolerates soil that's soggy in winter, as long as it dries out in summer.
Camas planting dates
| Towns | Plant in fall |
|---|---|
| Portland, OR, Seattle and Tacoma, WA, Astoria, OR | Oct 1 – Nov 15 |
| Spokane, WA | Sep 25 – Oct 31 |
| Boise and Meridian, ID | Oct 1 – Nov 1 |
| Bend and Redmond, OR | Sep 20 – Oct 20 |
Dates for six main cities. For any of the other 80 towns, type it in the box at the top of the page or browse all towns.
| Gresham, OR, Hillsboro and Beaverton, OR, Oregon City and West Linn, OR, Portland, OR, St. Helens and Scappoose, OR, Wilsonville and Canby, OR | Oct 1 – Nov 15 |
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| Corvallis and Albany, OR, Cottage Grove, OR, Eugene, OR, McMinnville and Newberg, OR, Salem, OR | Oct 1 – Nov 15 |
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| Ashland and Talent, OR, Grants Pass, OR, Medford, OR, Roseburg, OR | Oct 1 – Nov 15 |
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| Astoria, OR, Brookings and Gold Beach, OR, Coos Bay and North Bend, OR, Newport and Lincoln City, OR, Tillamook, OR | Oct 1 – Nov 15 |
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| Bend and Redmond, OR, Burns, OR, Klamath Falls, OR, Lakeview, OR, Madras, OR, Prineville, OR | Sep 20 – Oct 20 |
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| Baker City, OR, Enterprise and Joseph, OR, John Day, OR | Sep 20 – Oct 20 |
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| Hermiston, OR, Hood River, OR, Ontario, OR, Pendleton, OR, The Dalles, OR | Oct 1 – Nov 1 |
| La Grande, OR | Sep 25 – Oct 31 |
| Bremerton and Port Orchard, WA, Everett, WA, Kent, Renton and Auburn, WA, Olympia, WA, Seattle and Tacoma, WA, Shelton, WA | Oct 1 – Nov 15 |
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| Anacortes, WA, Bellingham, WA, Friday Harbor and the San Juans, WA, Mount Vernon and Burlington, WA, Oak Harbor and Whidbey Island, WA | Oct 1 – Nov 15 |
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| Aberdeen and Hoquiam, WA, Forks, WA, Long Beach and Ilwaco, WA, Port Angeles, WA, Port Townsend, WA, Sequim, WA | Oct 1 – Nov 15 |
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| Centralia and Chehalis, WA, Longview and Kelso, WA, Vancouver, WA | Oct 1 – Nov 15 |
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| Chelan, WA, Wenatchee, WA | Oct 1 – Nov 1 |
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| Leavenworth, WA, Omak and Okanogan, WA, Winthrop and Twisp, WA | Sep 25 – Oct 31 |
| Colville, WA, Pullman, WA, Spokane, WA | Sep 25 – Oct 31 |
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| Bonners Ferry, ID, Coeur d'Alene and Post Falls, ID, Sandpoint, ID | Sep 25 – Oct 31 |
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| Lewiston, ID | Oct 1 – Nov 1 |
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| Moscow, ID | Sep 25 – Oct 31 |
| Boise and Meridian, ID, Emmett, ID, Nampa and Caldwell, ID | Oct 1 – Nov 1 |
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| McCall, ID | Sep 20 – Oct 20 |
| Burley and Rupert, ID, Idaho Falls, ID, Pocatello, ID, Rexburg, ID, Twin Falls, ID | Sep 25 – Oct 31 |
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| Salmon, ID | Sep 20 – Oct 20 |
Camas year at a glance
| Task | J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plant | Oct | Nov | ||||||||||
| In bloom | Apr | May |
Around Portland. Colder towns, especially east of the Cascades, run a few weeks later; the table above has your town's planting dates.
How to grow camas
- Buy firm bulbs from a garden center or native plant nursery.
- Pick a sunny spot; camas tolerates soil that's wet in winter as long as it dries in summer.
- Plant them on your city's dates, 4 inches deep, pointed end up, 4 to 6 inches apart in groups.
- Water once after planting, then let the rain take over. Skip summer watering; camas is dormant then.
- Harvest: Enjoy the flowers in the garden; they make short-lived cut flowers. Let leaves yellow before cutting them back, and let a few seed heads ripen so they spread.
Growing camas in your part of the Northwest
The same plant behaves differently on the wet west side, the foggy coast and the dry, colder east side.
West-side valleys
Willamette Valley, Puget Sound, southern Oregon
Common camas is native to Willamette Valley prairies and grows in soil that is wet in spring and dry in summer.
East of the Cascades
Columbia Basin, Yakima, Boise, Spokane, north Idaho
Camas grows in Idaho's Camas Prairie and other wet spring meadows. It goes dormant in summer.
More camas varieties
More widely sold picks that do well somewhere in the Northwest. The tag says which part of the Northwest suits each one best.
Common camas
Camassia quamash has starry blue flowers and once covered Northwest meadows. It handles wet winter soil that dries in summer and naturalizes readily in sunny spots.
Both sides
Great camas
Camassia leichtlinii grows taller, with larger spikes of blue to cream flowers. It is showy in borders and meadows and tolerates heavy, damp soil.
West side
Blue Danube
A selection of great camas with tall spikes of rich blue flowers. It is easy to find from bulb sellers and makes a strong show in mixed borders.
Both sides
Cusick's camas
Camassia cusickii, native to northeastern Oregon, has large bulbs and many pale blue flowers. It adapts well to gardens and naturalizes over time.
East side
How much to grow
How many to plant
Plant in drifts of 25 or more bulbs, 4 to 6 inches apart. They spread slowly by seed into a meadow.
Key numbers
- Fall, 4 inches deepPlant bulbs
- April–MayBloom
- Tolerates itWinter-wet soil
- None neededSummer water
Top care tip: Let the leaves die back naturally after bloom, and skip summer water once the bulbs go dormant.
Growing notes
What makes the difference in Northwest gardens, in plain language.
Where camas grows wild
Camas once turned Northwest prairies and wet meadows blue each spring, from the Willamette Valley and Puget Sound prairies to mountain meadows east of the Cascades. These meadows are soggy in winter and spring, then bake dry in summer, and camas is built for exactly that cycle: it grows and blooms while the soil is wet and goes dormant underground by midsummer.
Camas bulbs were a major food for Native peoples across the region, who tended and harvested camas meadows for generations. Many of those meadows have since been lost to farming and development.
Growing camas in a garden
Plant bulbs in fall in groups, in sun or light shade. Common camas grows 1 to 2 feet tall; great camas and its selection Blue Danube grow taller and make a bolder show. Camas is a good choice for low, damp spots where tulips would rot, as long as the spot dries out in summer.
After blooming, let the leaves yellow before you cut them back. In a meadow or lawn planting, wait to mow until June. Let some seed heads ripen and scatter: seedlings take a few years to bloom, but plantings slowly spread.
Wildlife value and a safety note
Camas flowers feed native bees and other early pollinators, and restoring camas helps rebuild a habitat that has mostly disappeared. Voles and gophers sometimes eat the bulbs.
Never dig and eat wild camas bulbs. Death camas grows in the same meadows, looks nearly identical without flowers and is highly poisonous. Its flowers are white or cream, but the bulbs can't be safely told apart. Enjoy garden camas for its flowers.
Good neighbors
Grows well with
- Douglas aster. Grows in the same wet-in-winter, dry-in-summer soil and flowers after camas is done.
- Oregon iris. Blooms alongside it in meadows.
Pests and problems
What most often goes wrong with camas in Northwest gardens, how to spot it and what to do.
Mistaken identity
Signs: Death camas has cream or white flowers and is poisonous.
What to do: Never eat wild bulbs. Buy camas from a nursery.
Voles
Signs: Bulbs eaten underground.
What to do: Plant in wire cages where voles are a problem.
Common questions about growing camas
When should I plant camas in Oregon, Washington and Idaho?
Plant in fall: Oct 1 – Nov 15 in Portland and Seattle, Sep 25 – Oct 31 in Spokane, Oct 1 – Nov 1 in Boise and Sep 20 – Oct 20 in Bend. Pick your town at the top of the page for your own dates.
Is camas poisonous?
Blue camas itself isn't, but death camas, a different plant that grows in the same places, is highly poisonous and looks almost identical when not in bloom. Never eat wild bulbs; grow camas for its flowers.
When do you plant camas bulbs?
Plant them in fall, about 4 inches deep and 4 to 6 inches apart in groups. They root over winter and bloom the next April and May.
Does camas spread?
Yes, slowly. Bulbs multiply over time and plants reseed if you let the seed heads ripen. Seedlings take a few years to reach blooming size.
See what else to plant in October or November.
Huckleberries
Oregon grape
Red-flowering currant
Serviceberry
Thimbleberry
Salmonberry
Salal
Kinnikinnick
Western columbine
Douglas aster
Oregon sunshine
Pacific ninebark
Sword fern
Oregon iris