Read everything you need to know about flax cultivation in the commented profile here. Lots of tips about linseed flowers and use. How to properly plant and care for flax in the garden.
How to plant and care for flax in the garden?
Flax (Linum usitatissimum) is an annual herbaceous plant prized for its fibrous stems, edible seeds and beautiful flowers. In the garden, flax prefers a sunny to partially shaded location with well-drained, loamy soil and should be grown by direct sowing.
Profile
- Scientific name: Linum usitatissimum
- Family: Linaceae
- Synonyms: flax, flax plant, linseed plant
- Growth type: annual, herbaceous plant
- Growth height: 20 cm to 100 cm
- Growth: upright, fibrous stem
- Flower: Wrap
- Flowering period: May to August
- Fruit: Capsule
- Fruit properties: edible
- Winter hardiness: sensitive to frost
- Use: useful plant, medicinal plant, ornamental plant
flax plant
Common flax is the most important species in the flax family and is of global economic importance. The herbaceous plant has been cultivated as an annual since ancient times and is one of the historical cultivated plants. The focus is on the upright stems with a cellulose content of up to 70 percent for the production of flax or linen. Other plant parts play a key role in our everyday lives, such as pressed and ground linseed. The botanical part of the name usitatissimum means 'very useful', which underpins the following overview:
| Crop (commercial cultivation) | Garden plant (private cultivation) |
|---|---|
| Production of flax fiber | ornamental plant |
| Harvesting flax seeds | potted plant |
| Extraction of linseed oil for: | Green manure |
| + cooking oil | Natural Garden |
| + Paints, varnishes | Cottage Garden |
| + Wood protection | Balcony greening |
| + Corrosion protection | Apothecary Garden |
| + Cosmetics | |
| + Biofuel |
The EU has stopped paying subsidies since 2012, so commercial flax cultivation came to a standstill for some time. The increased demand for old cultivated plants with he althy ingredients has recently brought cultivation back on track, as the following video demonstrates:
Video: Revival of an old cultivated plant - flax cultivation in Bavaria
Fruit and seeds
The valuable contents of the inconspicuous fruits of a withered flax plant cannot be seen. A look at these characteristics of fruit and seeds reveals amazing properties:
- Capsule fruit outside: brown, spherical-ovoid, 6 mm to 9 mm small.
- Capsule fruit inside: 5 compartments with 2 seeds each.
- Seeds: yellow to dark brown, 4 mm to 5 mm long, 2.5 mm to 3 mm wide.
- Ingredients: 40% linseed oil, of which up to 70% unsaturated fatty acid, lysine, protein, linoleic acid, lecithin, iodine, fiber.
- Special features: Seed coat forms mucilage, highest proportion of unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids of all plant oils.
Mucimate and fiber are responsible for the valued healing effects of flax. The ground flaxseeds are added to muesli, yoghurt or bread and relieve constipation. Contraindications include intestinal obstruction, diarrhea and narrowing of the esophagus. It is important to note a maximum daily dose of 20 grams because the seeds can contain cadmium and a precursor to toxic hydrogen cyanide. Seeds pressed into linseed oil are, among other things, a he althy cooking oil. If you have a sore throat or cough, you can thicken the ground linseed with milk, put it in a cotton bag and place it hot on your chest.
Bloom
For nature-loving hobby gardeners, flax is a decorative hit in the garden. The most beautiful decoration are the distinctive flowers as a floral reflection of a cloudless sky. These attributes characterize the linseed flower:
- Inflorescence: panicle-shaped coil
- Single flower: five-petaled, cup-shaped, 2 cm to 4 cm in diameter
- Flower color: sky blue with dark veining, subspecies red, pink, white or yellow
- Flower ecology: homogamous (self-pollination), nectar-producing disc flower
- Flowering time: May to August
Wrap is a special inflorescence. A minor axis branches off from a main axis with a terminal flower and also has a terminal flower. A flower stalk branches off from this secondary axis and so on. The secondary axes are arranged alternately on the right and left, as if Mother Nature had wound them up.
Leaf
A fine-needle foliage gives flax plants in the garden green fullness and contrasts beautifully with the sky blue flowers. Even before the flowering period begins, you can recognize a flax leaf by these attributes:
- Leaf shape: linear-lanceolate, sessile
- Size: 2 cm to 4 cm long, 1.5 mm to 3 mm wide (up to 15 times longer than wide)
- Arrangement: alternate
The leaves are of no importance for the production of flax fiber or linseed oil. By the way, with the help of these tips you can also accurately name two-year-old flax (Linum bienne), because in our part of the world this subspecies can often be seen growing wild in meadows and on the edges of forests.
Planting flax
Common flax is grown in the garden and on the balcony because of its delicate, flowery beauty. Direct sowing has proven successful for planting in beds and containers. Growing on the windowsill and then transplanting is tricky due to epically long taproots. How to plant flax correctly:
Location
In these locations, flax shows its most beautiful side:
- Sunny to partially shaded location
- Happy to be warm and protected from the wind
- In the bed: sandy-permeable, predominantly dry clay soil
- Exclusion criteria: wet, boggy garden soil with acidic pH below 5.5
- In the bucket: Mix of peat-free potting soil, sand and expanded clay
Lein in the garden is incompatible with itself. No flax plants should have grown at the chosen location in the previous four years.
Sowing linseed in the bed
For splendid growth, early sowing in March/April is recommended because flax thrives as a long-day plant. For latecomers, the time window remains open until the beginning of July. Late frosts that occur do not affect germination. This fact is particularly advantageous for using flax as green manure. This is how you sow linseed correctly:
- Dig up the bed one to two spades deep, rake and rake until finely crumbled.
- Important: Do not fertilize the seedbed organically.
- Distribute linseed widely.
- Work dark germs 2 cm to 3 cm deep into the soil.
- Press soil and sprinkle.
Under normal weather conditions, germination takes one to two weeks. As germination progresses, separate the flax seedlings at a distance of 20 centimeters.
Sowing linseed in a bucket
For sowing flax, use a deep bucket that offers the long taproots enough space to develop. Before you fill in the recommended substrate, cover the bottom of the bucket with drainage made of expanded clay or broken clay. When growing flax in pots, it is also recommended not to add compost or horn shavings.
Excursus
Yellow dream team in the natural garden
Natural hobby gardeners are giving new living space to two massively threatened natural beauties. Yellow flax (Linum flavum) and Adonis florets (Adonis vernalis) compete with the sun, are useful as bee pastures and love calcareous meadows. When the Adonis rose flowering season comes to an end in May, Yellow Flax continues the picturesque flower festival until September.
caring for flax
Flax is very easy to care for. The cornerstones of good care are weeding, watering and occasional fertilizing. Because linseed plants grow as annuals, no further measures are necessary. This is how you care for Linum usitatissimum in an exemplary manner:
Removing weeds
The flax plant has little competition. The plant quickly loses out against unwanted weeds. A mandatory program in flax care is therefore regular weeding from the day the flax seeds are sowed. Pull out a small number of weeds as soon as possible so that water and nutrients are only available for the growth of flax.
Pouring
A balanced water supply is particularly important in May and June. At least 120 millimeters of rain should fall from the sky so that flax seeds can grow vitally and bloom opulently. In dry weather, water regularly when the soil in the bed or pot is noticeably dry. Let the water from the watering can run directly onto the root disc without causing waterlogging. The best time is early in the morning or after sunset. Please avoid targeted bombardment with the water hose so that the stems do not bend or mildew attacks the damp leaves.
Fertilize
To promote the formation of buds and flowers, you can apply a fertilizer with extra phosphorus and potassium. A combination of these two main nutrients acts as a flower booster in flax. In contrast, nitrogen strengthens the growth of leaves at the expense of the sky-blue flowers. Apply the fertilizer according to the manufacturer's instructions. In the bed, fertilizing once in early/mid-May is usually sufficient. Fertilize potted plants every two weeks.
Popular varieties
The following subspecies and varieties impress with decorative properties that hobby gardeners will appreciate:
- Red flax (Linum grandiflorum): Magnificent flax with scarlet petals, annual, 45 cm high.
- Biennial flax (Linum bienne): Subspecies with biennial stems that bloom and fruit once in a pale purple color.
- Perennial flax 'Saphir': perennial flax (Linum perenne), light blue flowers, height 20 cm to 30 cm.
- Garden flax 'Diamant': hardy flax plant with white, blue-marked flowers, upright stems up to 80 cm high.
- White flax 'Album': richly flowering perennial flax with bright white flowers, height 40 cm to 50 cm.
FAQ
Does blue flax grow as an annual or perennial?
Blue flax (Linum perenne) is a decorative perennial for beds and containers. The plant looks very similar to Linum usitatissimum (common flax). Both flax plants are closely related and boast blue flowers. Blue flax is also called perennial flax because it is often planted in the garden as a perennial ornamental plant. In contrast, common flax is grown as an annual crop worldwide for the production of fiber flax, linseed oil and linseed.
Which flax is called a flax plant?
The common flax (Linum usitatissimum) is also called the flax plant and for good reason. The stem, which can be up to 100 centimeters in size, contains plenty of cellulose for the production of flax or linen fibers. The industry uses it to produce high-quality fabrics such as canvas or linen as well as natural textiles made from linen. All other flax subspecies play no role in flax cultivation.
What is the difference between flax fiber and oiled flax?
Both flax plants are subspecies of Linum usitatissimum. When it comes to fiber flax, the focus is on the growth of strong stems with a high cellulose content for the production of flax or linen fabrics. Linseed grows more compactly because the focus here is on numerous fruits and seeds. Ripe flax capsules naturally pop open and send the seeds on their way. This characteristic has been bred away from linseed varieties so that the linseeds are not lost during harvest.
