Illustration
Great Camas
Camassia leichtlinii
Also comes in purple and white.
Great Camas blooms from May through June.
Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.
Growing Great Camas
Plant it in full sun. It prefers moderate water. It is hardy in USDA zones 5–9. Expect it to reach about 3 ft tall and 1.5 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 1 year (a house reading).
Pets
- Not yet checked for pets.
Lists differ and none is complete. If a pet eats a plant and seems unwell, call a veterinarian or a pet poison helpline.
No toxicity note is on file for Great Camas. That is not a clearance: check its safety for people and pets before planting.
What was checked
Nine facts were checked against named botanical sources, each recorded beside the sources that carried it: mature height and spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, the trait tags, and years to mature size, which rests on a recorded house rule where no publisher states one and is marked so. Soil, diseases, pests, toxicity and the plant's own names have not yet been read for this plant, and its trait tags are the ones a feature uses rather than every word a page prints. Each fact above carries its own mark. The planting, spacing and size sections are derived from these checked facts by a fixed rule, not checked separately, and the plant type is the library's own classification.
When to plant Great Camas
Great Camas is a fall-planted bulb: get it in the ground 6 to 8 weeks before the ground freezes, typically October or November in zone 7, the middle of its hardy zones 5 to 9. It pays you back the following May to June.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 7, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 7 in October. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.
How big does Great Camas get?
3 fttall5 ft 7 inan adult1.5 ftwideSee Great Camas in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.
Where these facts come from
Great Camas' height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags were checked against 9 published sources on November 5, 2026. Each one is linked below with every fact it carried, which can include a fact this page still marks as not yet checked, because a source carrying a value is not the same as the value being held to the standard. Facts not in that list, and the planting, spacing and size sections, are not covered by these sources.
- Missouri Botanical Gardenheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
- bentonswcd.orgBenton Soil and Water Conservation Districtheight, bloom months and color and trait tags
- burkeherbarium.orgUniversity of Washington Burke Herbariumheight, bloom months and color and trait tags
- Iowa State University Extensionand Outreachheight, sun and bloom months and color
- kitsapcd.orgKitsap Conservation Districtheight, spread and bloom months and color
- RHSRoyal Horticultural Societyheight, water and bloom months and color
- Chicago Botanic Gardenhardiness zones and bloom months and color
- NC State ExtensionGardener Plant Toolboxsun and trait tags
- pondsidenursery.comPondside Nurserysun
How the checking works, and what each standard covers, is on the verified plants page.
Where it grows wild
Native to 3 states and 1 province
United States: California, Oregon, Washington
Canada: British Columbia
Recorded growing wild in 36 counties.
Range data from the World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 4.0, adapted) and USDA PLANTS. How the native range is credited.
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Design a garden with this
Drop this plant onto a 3D plan, see how it fills in, and watch your whole garden bloom across the year.