Kamassia is a wonderful flower, but it is not often possible to meet it on our personal plots. Gardeners prefer to grow familiar species, bypassing the exotic beauty. But professional landscape designers love this unpretentious plant, because it is able to revive the composition and gets along well with other colors.
Classification
Kamassia belongs to perennial herbaceous bulbous plants. Today, it is isolated in the Agavaceae family, somewhat earlier this species was considered a representative of the Liliaceae (Liliaceae) family.
The genus Camassius has not been studied in detail. It is believed that it consists of 6 species that grow massively in temperate zones of North America.
Plant description
Kamassia is a perennial flower; its bulbs in temperate zones do not require winter digging. All species of camassia have numerous elongated sternate leaves in the basal zone. The leaf length is about 50 cm, the width is no more than 5 cm. Before flowering, the plant resembles a neat bunch, the leaves of which are somewhat similar to the leaves of a daffodil. The peduncle of Kamassia is tall and leafless. Depending on the species, it can be from 35 cm to 1 m high. Each peduncle ends with an inflorescence-brush, collected from numerous star-shaped flowers. The color of the flower can be cream, white, but most often these are various options for blue, up to a saturated blue color. Sometimes camassia is found, the flower of which has a dark purple color. Flowers consist of 6 elongated petals.
Watching the flowering of camassia is very interesting. The life span of an individual flower in an inflorescence is only a day, but the brush consists of several tens of such flowers. Therefore, decorative qualities persist for 2-2.5 weeks. And after flowering, nice tricuspid capsules appear, filled with black small seeds. During this period, the plant does not spoil the appearance of the flowerbed, but rather gives it a special sophistication.
On flower growing sites, camassia does not need advertising. The flower, a photo of which is available in this article, blossoms in late May - early June. It was during this period, when the tulips familiar to us were blooming, that miniature lilies appeared in flower beds and flowers gathered in lush upright brushes.
The appearance of the bulb
The first Kamassia bulbs appeared in Europe only at the dawn of the 19th century. They were slightly different in appearance, since they had a membranous structure. This means that each onion consists of numerous flakes.
The shape of the bulbs can be broadly egg-shaped or spherical. Their diameter, depending on the species, is from 4 to 6 cm. The bulbs of some species are edible, which is why the plant was popular among the native population of North America at home.
Common types. Kamassia Kuzika
Among the few genus camassias, there are three species that are most often used in garden design:
- Kamassia Kuzika;
- Camassia Leuchtlin;
- Kvamash (edible camassia).
We begin the story with a description of S. Cusickii, that is, Kussik camassia. Kamassia Kuzika flower is medium in size. The plant can rise up to 80 cm, but there are low-growing forms that do not exceed 40 cm. This species blooms from mid-May to early June. Although most often by the end of May, flowering ends.
Kamassia Kuzika flower, the photo of which is presented in this article, has a light blue hue. Its bulbs are gathered in groups of several. The length of each bulb is approximately 8 cm, and the diameter is not more than 5 cm. One of the features of the species is the unpleasant smell coming from the bulbs.
Flower stalks of Kamusia Kuzika stretch up to 80 cm. Of these, 40 cm is an inflorescence. Leaves - pointedly xiphoid or strap-like. The color of the leaf is gray-green, the structure is grooved, the edges are slightly wavy. The peduncle brush contains up to 100 flowers with pointed narrow bracts. The diameter of each flower is approximately 3 cm.
Kamassia Leichtlin
This type of camassia has wide egg-shaped bulbs about 4 cm in diameter. They can be eaten. The leaves of the plant are linear in shape. The leaf length usually does not exceed 60 cm. The stem of the peduncle reaches 1 m, the inflorescence takes up to 20 cm from this height. A brush can contain from 6 to 60 flowers. Flowers of various colors, cream-white, light blue, purple-blue and purple colors are found. There are varieties with plentiful double flowers.
The flowering period begins in late May - early June. Sometimes it blooms in the first half of June. Inflorescences delight about twenty days.
Kvamash
Kvamash is Kamassia, whose flower has the lowest stem. Plant height can be from 25 to 60 cm. This characteristic largely depends on the growing conditions. The second name of this species is edible camassia. But in European flower beds this plant is not grown for an acceptable taste, but for a beautiful appearance. The undersized camassia has beautiful inflorescences of saturated flowers. Most often these are violet-blue variations, but sometimes pale blue inflorescences are found. One of the most beautiful varieties of Blue Melody has, for example, bright blue flowers with golden stamens. And the foliage of this variety is bordered with a white thin stripe, which increases the decorative qualities of the plant.
Kvamash bulbs taste sweetish, but to achieve this, it takes a long heat treatment. The Indians, for example, kept kvamash bulbs in earth ovens for 24 hours.
Cultivation and care
What actions will the camassius flower require from the gardener? Growing and caring for this plant is usually not a problem. For bulbs, you should choose a lit or semi-shaded place. It is advisable to plant in soil that can retain moisture. But landing sites should not be subject to stagnant waterlogging. Regular watering to the plant is not needed. To provide the plant with water should only be in the arid hot period, and at the same time not to overdo it. But the plant needs spring fertilizing. Perform it with complex mineral fertilizers. In autumn, the landing site is mulched with peat or humus. This will protect the bulbs from winter freezing and will serve as additional fertilizing.
Bulbs are planted in September-October. Planting depth from 10 to 15 cm. A plant will need a transplant after 4-6 years. During this time, the plant curtain will become lush, and its inflorescence will be as colorful as possible. When transplanting, the bulbous nest is dug up, divided and immediately identified in a permanent place.
Breeding
To propagate camassia, seeds can be used. They are sown in late autumn, but the flowering of the resulting plants occurs only after 3-4 years. A faster result can be obtained by reproduction by children. Subsidiary bulbs in the nest form in 3-4 years, but after dividing the plant blooms quite soon.
It is important to remember that the plant to be divided is dug up at the end of flowering. About 3 weeks they are stored in a ventilated place, while the roots are not cut. Share the nest just before landing.
I would like to see a flower of camassia more often on flower beds and alpine hills. Reviews about this plant are optimistic and positive, so we can hope that flower growers will pay attention to the plant, which is able to please the eye in the offseason, when spring flowers have already faded and summer time has not yet arrived.