Camassia · Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkey
When to sow camassias in Istanbul
Main outdoor window
7-21 Nov
The window this page is built around.
Timed from last spring frost
20 February
In Istanbul, on your chosen risk.
Ready to pick
1 May - 30 Jun
If you plant at the start of the window.
The average last frost. Half of all years are later than this.
Step by step in Istanbul
Each window is a range, not a single day. Earlier in the range buys you a longer season; later in it buys you a safer one.
Plant the bulbs
7-21 Nov
Four to six weeks before your first frost, so roots form before the ground cools.
In flower
1 May - 30 Jun
Camassias through the year
Against the frost risk in Istanbul
Why these dates
Plant in autumn, 12cm deep. The one bulb in this section that positively suits a wet winter site, so it is the answer for the low corner of the garden where everything else has failed. Leave it alone once planted; it dislikes being lifted.
Hardy to -30C. Native to seasonally flooded meadows, so winter wet is not a threat, though it wants drier conditions once dormant in summer.
Camassias are anchored to the first autumn frost rather than the last spring one, so the planting window on this page counts backwards from the end of the season in Istanbul instead of forwards from its start.
Istanbul sits in zone 9b, which is milder than this crop wants, and a winter that never really arrives is its own problem. The dates below still describe the right time of year; the open question is survival rather than timing.
The median frost-free season here is 303 days, against 180 to 220 days to first flower for this crop counted from sowing. That margin is what decides whether a late sowing is worth attempting.
Also in Istanbul
Other flowers to time
Growing camassias in Istanbul
When should I plant camassias in Istanbul?
Aim for 7-21 Nov in an average year. If you would rather not gamble on the weather, wait until 24 Oct - 7 Nov - by then frost has finished in nine years out of ten.
When will camassias be ready to harvest in Istanbul?
Expect to start picking around 1 May - 30 Jun, based on 180 to 220 days to maturity from the planting date calculated for this location.
How much frost will camassias tolerate?
Hardy to -30C. Native to seasonally flooded meadows, so winter wet is not a threat, though it wants drier conditions once dormant in summer.