Camassia (was On trilliums and more)
Jane McGary (Mon, 05 Jun 2006 16:45:17 PDT)
Jim asked,
Jane, please tell us more about the cultivar of Camassia quamash called
'Puget Blue'. I've had Camassia quamash in several forms over the years, but
it's so short compared to C. leichtlinii that it's harder to place in the
garden. When you described 'Puget Blue' as large, were you describing the
size of the flower of the height of the plant? The context seems to suggest
that you had height in mind. Is that so? How tall is it?
It is larger in all its parts. The scapes are 18-24 inches high, and the
individual florets more than an inch (2.5 cm) in diameter. The leaves are
correspondingly large. Compared with 'Orion' the inflorescence is much
larger and denser, and the tepals both broader and of greater substance.
However, it's not a cultivar; it's more of a garden strain derived from
certain populations of what I presume to be C. quamash var. maxima (the
species has five varieties; I think the small cultivars are derived from
var. quamash). I grew mine from seed donated to NARGS by a member in the
Seattle area years ago. Maybe I can dig some up and put small bulbs on my
list this summer. It's definitely worth growing.
Jane McGary
Northwestern Oregon, USA