Blue Flax
Linum perenne
Blue Flax is a tap rooted, medium-lived perennial forb. Plant height varies from 12 inches in arid sites to 36 inches when irrigated. Flowers are produced from mid- May to late June. It is well suited to live in a variety of plant communities from big sagebrush to mountain brush sites. It prefers full sun and does not perform well as an understory species. Blue Flax is best suited to sites with well-drained to moderately well drained soils that are moderately basic to weakly acidic. It is also well adapted for use in mixtures for seeding mine soils and highway rights-of-way. Blue Flax is consumed readily by big game animals and livestock, especially in the spring when they are changing diets from shrubs to forbs and grasses. Because of its beautiful deep blue color as compared to the paler native flax plants, Blue Flax is often used in horticultural settings such as road-side improvement applications and as an ornamental in home gardens.
Lifespan: perennial
Season: cool
Uses: amnenity grassland, reclamation, CRP, pollinator, wildlife habitat, biodiversity
Native or Introduced: Native
Annual Average Precipitation: 10 inches
Field Seeding Rate (lbs/acre): 3 to 5
Turf Seeding Rate (lbs/1000 s.f.): n/a
