Red Large-flowered Flax Seeds (Linum grandiflorum rubrum)

Linum grandiflorum var. rubrum

Large-flowered flax, red flax, scarlet flax: native to North Africa, this ornamental cousin of textile flax bears deep carmine-red flowers, much larger than those of its cultivated relative. Each corolla lasts only a single day, but the flowers follow one another tirelessly all summer, in perpetual motion at the slightest breath of air.

Characteristics:

• Brilliant flowers: bright red with a dark center, 3 to 4 cm across, distinctly larger than those of common flax.
• Airy growth: slender stems and narrow leaves that give borders a light, gently moving texture.
• Drought-resistant: once established, it needs very little water.

Precautions:

• This species is strictly ornamental: unlike cultivated flax (Linum usitatissimum), its seeds are not intended for food consumption.

Sowing advice:

• Exposure: full sun is essential—its flowers remain closed in cloudy weather.
• Soil: light, sandy, poor, and well drained. It dislikes heavy soil and stagnant moisture. Do not fertilize: in rich soil, the stems become elongated and flop over.
• Method: sow directly in place in spring (or in autumn in mild climates), barely covering the seeds. Its fragile root system does not tolerate transplanting well: avoid sowing in pots. Thin to 20 cm apart. Do not soak or stratify. See how to sow your seeds.

Care advice:

• Almost none. Stagger sowings every 3 weeks to extend flowering into autumn.

Beneficial combinations:

• It creates superb flower meadows with cornflower and wild poppy, which share its requirements for well-drained soil and plenty of sunlight. See our seeds for poor, dry soil.

Benefits for biodiversity:

• Its flowers, which open each morning, provide nectar and pollen for bees and hoverflies throughout the warm season.
• Its seeds, left standing in autumn, feed small seed-eating birds.

Uses:

• Ornamental: borders, rock gardens, flower beds, wildflower meadows, and naturalistic gardens.

Harvesting your own seeds:
Let the small, round capsules turn brown and dry completely on the plant, then gently crush them between your fingers over a container. Red flax also readily self-seeds from one season to the next. See how to store your seeds.

Commitment to Quality: at SemiSauvage - Permaculture, we grow and select our seeds with respect for living things as our guiding principle. Based near the Volcanoes of Auvergne, we choose reproducible, non-hybrid varieties, tested for their germination rate, carefully sorted and packaged, without any chemical treatment. Our belief: to give gardeners back the ability to resow, year after year, seeds that truly belong to them.

Add a touch of bright red and lightness to your garden with these large-flowered flax seeds.