Perennial Flax or Perennial Flax is a bee-friendly perennial that likes a sunny spot and requires little maintenance.
Whether linseed, linseed oil or flax fibers - flax is still an important crop today. In addition, species such as perennial flax (Linum perenne) also make beautiful ornamental plants. The sky-blue flowers of the perennial beautify many a bare spot in the bed and are also important beneficial pastures. In its culture, perennial flax is actually relatively easy to care for. You just have to know what culture is all about.
The species of the genus flax (Linum) have been cultivated as useful plants for 10,000 years. For example, common flax, better known as flax (Linum usitatissimum), is used in a variety of ways. Its fibers are a valuable natural substance in textile processing and its flaxseed actually belongs in every kitchen as a digestive remedy. In addition, the valuable linseed oil is obtained from the seeds of the linseed, which is not only very popular for cooking, but also for the production of oil paint.
The enduring flax used to be used for fiber production. Linen, also known as Staudenlein, was used together with flax to make linen. In addition to cotton and silk, common and perennials are the most important crops for the production of natural fibers. Today, however, perennial flax is mainly known as an ornamental shrub for the garden.
Persistent flax - effect and use
In theory, Perennial Flax can also be used to obtain flaxseed and flaxseed oil, which should be of interest to herbalists and self-sufficient people. For example, the famous linseed bread, which is particularly good for digestion, can be made from the seeds. The digestive flaxseed is also often added to yoghurt or muesli.
The seeds contain valuable mucilage that swells up quickly when it comes into contact with water and forms a slimy film around the seeds. This can be a valuable help not only for constipation and diarrhea, but also for irritated intestinal mucosa and intestinal inflammation. Because the mucilage soothes irritated and sore intestinal walls incredibly well. In thisFlaxseed tea is also a good recommendation.
However, the seeds of the perennial flax should not be eaten raw, but boiled well beforehand. In its raw state, the seed contains cyanogen, which is a precursor to the dangerous hydrocyanic acid. For this reason, one should actually only eat flaxseed if the cyanogens have been neutralized by sufficient heating beforehand. In addition, no more than 20 g of flaxseed should be eaten per day.
| Perennial Flax (Linum perenne) | |
|---|---|
| Growth: | upright flower stalks |
| Growth: | 30 - 60 cm |
| Growth: | 25 - 30 cm |
| Flowering: | June - August |
| Location: | Sun |
| Floor: | permeable, calcareous, moderately nutritious, dry to medium dry |
Perennial flaxseed in the garden
Perennial Flax is a domestic crop. It is at home in both Europe and Asia, although the type of linen has now become very rare in Germany. The perennial is on the Red List of Threatened Species and is strictly protected in the wild. With a culture in the garden you can therefore make a valuable contribution to species protection. Since perennials occur naturally in the local flora, they are ideal for natural garden concepts such as
- Natural Garden
- wild garden
- Heidegarten
- Cottage Garden
- Prairie Garden
- Rock Garden
- Steppe Garden
There are a few planting concepts that are particularly suitable for perennial flax. For example, the linen species is often planted on dry stone walls, where its light, airy growth habit sets the scene for the stone ambience of the wall particularly well. In addition, Linum perenne is often cultivated in gravel beds and borders.
Perennial flax also sets particularly beautiful accents in wildflower meadows. Since the plant grows in loose clumps, it fits wonderfully into different wildflower arrangements. Because of this, it's often a component of Seed Bombs like Blooming Cornfield or SavagesMeadow". Beneficial insects like to fly to the dreamy blue flowers of the perennial, so the perennial is often used in seed mixtures for bee pastures.
Perennial flax - location and planting
In the wild, perennial flax grows preferably on dry grassland and in sparse pine forests. Accordingly, the location in the garden should be dry and sunny. Poor in nutrients and sandy to stony substrates with good soil permeability are ideal. Linum perenne also loves calcareous soils. You can therefore confidently spend some lime litter at the location. Proper soil pH is in the neutral to alkaline range.
» Important: Only young plants should be planted, because Linum perenne is extremely site-loyal, older plants do not tolerate a change of location particularly well.
Planting instructions in 3 steps
1. Step: Perennial flax can be planted continuously from March to October.
2. Step: Loosen the site soil well and enrich the substrate with sand or gravel if necessary. Good soil drainage also ensures good water drainage. As basic fertilization it is recommended to work some humus into the soil.
3. Step: The needle-like foliage of the perennial flax grows relatively sprawling in clumps. Some shoots develop in a decumbent manner, while others tend to grow upwards. A plant distance of at least 30 cm to neighboring plants should therefore be maintained.
Perennial Flax - Irrigation and Fertilization
Perennial flax is relatively frost-resistant with a winter hardiness down to -23 °C. However, you should protect the plants from waterlogging, especially in winter, for example by covering them with brushwood. In principle, manual watering is not necessary for perennial flax. It copes very well with intermittent drought. That is why it also grows excellently in arid locations where conventional flowering perennials do not last long.
The nutrient requirements of Linum perenne are similar. The plant prefers poor soil. A handful of compost or horn shavings is completely sufficient for fertilization in spring.
Endurance leash - pruning and propagation
Perennial Flax cannot be used as a cut flower. On the one hand, the flowers only open when there is sufficient sunlight, whereas they close quickly in the shade. On the other hand, the beautiful sky-blue flowers are also very short-lived andThat's why they don't last very long in the vase.
In the garden, however, the perennial quickly produces many flowers in a short time. An additional cut back close to the ground after the main flowering period can also stimulate a lush second flowering in late summer. In winter another pruning is recommended before covering the perennial with brushwood, fir branches or garden fleece to protect against icy melt water. But please wait until the parts of the plant have completely withered.
Propagation by self-seeding
In contrast to many other plants, it can be worthwhile to support self-sowing with perennial flax. Because the flower colors of the new perennials often deviate from those of the mother plant, resulting in a decorative play of colors in the bed.
Propagation by controlled sowing
If you collect the seeds of the plant after the fruit has ripened, you can also carry out controlled sowing in the following spring. Simply re-sow the seeds on the spot. Pre-cultivation in a pot or pricking out after germination is not necessary.
Be careful when propagating by division
Division of the roots is not recommended for perennials. As already mentioned, Linum perenne does not like to be implemented. Especially the sections of older plants grow relatively poorly in the ground.
Perennials - good varieties for the garden
The little perennial is sometimes available in numerous varieties. In addition to various shades of blue, rare, white-flowering varieties are also available here. The respective variants also have different growth heights. Here is a brief overview of particularly popular varieties:
- 'Album' - bright white flowers; becomes approx. 45 cm high
- 'Blue Dress' - soft blue flowers; becomes approx. 40 cm high
- 'Nanum Diamant' - white flowers; becomes approx. 25 cm high
- 'Nanum Saphir' - pastel blue flowers; becomes approx. 30 cm high
- 'Sapphire' sapphire blue flowers; becomes approx. 50 cm high
Diseases and Pests
Actually, Perennial Flax is extremely resilient to pests and diseases. However, care mistakes can quickly make the plant vulnerable. Waterlogging, for example, quickly causes root rot. Too dense or heavy soil promotes stunted growth and locations with little sun can impair the flowering of the Linum perenne.
Accordingly, it is important to implement the few cultural requirements of the plant as well as possible. If that succeeds, you have the rustic flowers of the perenniallong joy.