Linum usitatissimum or Common Flax is the one that’s used for making linen fabric and linseed oil used as food. Flaxseed of this species is also used for food consumption as well. This plant is the annual. Linum perenne or Perennial Flax is the almost exact twin. Linum lewisii native wildflower of North America is or is not depending to different experts, a subspecies (part of an isolated population) of Linum perenne. This one is the perennial. [2] X Trustworthy Source Missouri Botanical Garden Oldest botanical garden in the U. S. and center for botanical research and science education Go to source There are other flax species that produce red (Linum grandiflorum) pink and yellow flowers (golden flax (Linum. flavum). as well.
If there’s a flax species you want to try but have little information about it’s growing conditions and/or seed germination requirements you can always ask the person in the shop via chat or email or talk to experts on many garden forums. With any plant group there’s always possible exceptions to the rules and this article is very general.
Rotate the crops of flax (Linum usitatissiumum and other annuals) every year. Don’t plant it in the exact spot every year as this will put plants at greater risk for diseases and pests. Plant something different in the previous year’s spot where flax was grown like another vegetable or annual flowers.
Blue Flax species are hardy and can be planted early and withstand heavy frost (temps below 40 degrees F)Other ones are from warmer even tropical regions and this cold can kill them. Do not plant flax seeds where there are cold season weeds that will compete with the young seedlings. These are weeds that grow during the cool beginning periods of spring (March or April) or fall. Wild mustards, clovers, and burweeds are a few examples of these winter weeds as well as some grasses like winter rye. These weeds can also keep growing during an unusually warm winter.
You can also grow flax seeds inside a peat pot or other degradable (non-plastic pot) following the above step. After that, plant the young plants outside during spring when the soil warms up and the weather settles. First, before setting the plants directly in the garden, place them in a sheltered protected spot for a week and then move them to more exposed and sunny situations. Make sure you cover the entire peat pot and tear out the bottom and the peat pot apart so the peat pot doesn’t take water from plant or prevent the plant from growing strong deep roots into the soil. Don’t disturb the flax seedlings or mature plants! They do not like to be moved and moving them can cause them to wilt. This can also break the taproot thus stunting very likely killing the plant. If you must move a flax plant do it in the fall when the plant is dormant to help ease the shock.
After flowering stops cut the plant down to the ground for perennial types. Annual species at this time should be uprooted and thrown away to prevent diseases from affecting and killing next year’s flax crop as these diseases can live in the soil for years. If you want to you can collect seeds from the tiny little brown “paper lanterns” and store them for next year in a tightly sealed ziplock bag. The only disease flax can get frequently is fungal and mildew. Place flax in a well-circulated breezy site and check for plants turning brown, black, and mushy. Flax does not take well to high humidity at night. Water plants in the morning to prevent water on the leaves from turning into a fungal rot problem. Several species of moth caterpillars use this group of plants for food and are not major problems. One called cutworm can sometimes kill young plants by just chewing on the only stem straight through. [5] X Research source
