Atlantic Camas
Camassia scilloides
Soft blue to pale violet spikes rise above grassy foliage in April and May. Plant it in drifts for an ethereal spring show in moist meadows.
Typically 1 pint–1 gal · $9–$30 · final price at pickup
- Thu, Aug 138 AM – 4 PM
- Fri, Aug 148 AM – 4 PM
- Sat, Aug 158 AM – 2 PM
Native spring bulb with pale blue-violet spikes for moist meadows -- a rare color in April's native plant palette.
Atlantic camas is a spring-blooming bulb native that creates something rare in the spring garden: vertical spikes of soft blue to pale violet flowers that rise above grassy foliage in April and May. The star-shaped blooms are individually delicate but multiply along each spike, creating a soft-colored column that reads as a gentle, ethereal blue from any distance. It naturalizes slowly in moist meadows and wet woodland openings, increasing each year without becoming aggressive. Historically one of the most important food plants of eastern Native American peoples, the bulbs providing a starchy, nutritious food source through winter. Today, it's a beautiful and increasingly rare addition to naturalized moist meadow and rain garden plantings. Plant in drifts for the best visual effect; small groupings look lonely.
A nursery-grown plant, ready for the ground.
Healthy, container-grown atlantic camas propagated on-site at Hill House from regional genetics. Includes a one-page care card. We make every effort to supply plants as listed; occasionally we substitute a similar species of equal value.
- Sun
- Full sun
- Water
- Average
- Mature size
- 1–2 ft · 6–12 in wide
- Bloom time
- April–May
- Bloom color
- Purple, Blue
- USDA zones
- 4–8
- Family
- Asparagaceae
- Native range
- Eastern and central United States from Pennsylvania south to Georgia and west to Kansas and Nebraska, in moist meadows and woodland edges
Care notes for atlantic camas.
Full to part sun in moist to wet soil. Bulbs need consistent moisture through spring and early summer. Allow foliage to die back naturally after bloom. Naturalizes by seed and offsets in favorable moist conditions. Do not disturb bulbs once planted -- they resent relocation.
Pairs well with these.
Same light, same soil, same wildlife. Janet's picks to plant alongside atlantic camas.
Or skip the guesswork.
Curated packages bundle complementary species for an instant habitat. One reservation, one pickup day, a printed layout map.
Short on Space Package
For gardeners who have an abundance of passion but are short on space, this package features tidy, upright, clump-forming natives that behave and function well in small spaces.
Shade Bed Package
Ferns, sedges, and woodland natives that thrive under existing trees.
Birder’s Paradise Package
For the avid bird watchers and budding ornithologists in our community, the Birder’s Paradise Package consists of species that Hill House Nursery staff and longtime native plant advocates such as Doug Tallamy consider ‘premier bird garden plants’.