Lewis Flax in the Landscape

Diane Jones, Draggin' Wing Farm, Water-thrifty Plants for Idaho

Scientfic Name: Linum lewisii
Common Name: Lewis Flax, Wild Blue Flax

Description: This vigorous native wildflower produces masses of cheerful little blue blooms on thin, waving stalks from late spring through mid-summer. Each flower lasts only a day, drops to the ground and is replaced by more the next morning. Charming.

Native Habitat: Shrubs steppe and foothills to mountain meadows throughout the Western U.S. and Canada.

Cultural Requirement

Soil: Adaptable, not picky about soil.

Moisture Tolerance: Moderate to low water requirement.

Sun/Shade/Preference: Full sun.

Transplanting: Easy from container.

Propagation: Seed.

Maintenance (pruning, fertilization, deadheading, division, irrigation, etc): Flower stalks may be cut back in mid-summer after blooming is finished.

Insect, disease, or other problems: Some cultivars of Linum lewisii produce a lot of seed and can be invasive, especially if the site is well-watered.

Landscape Value

Use in the Landscape: Use singly or in masses towards the middle or back of a bed. Also works well in naturalized prairies, shrub steppe or mountain meadow plantings.

Foliage: Very fine blue-green leaves, greening up early in the spring.

Flower: Blue to pale bluish-white single blossoms, dropping after a day.

Timing: May-July.

Color: Blue.

Fruit: Capsule.

Form: Open clump of delicate flower stalks that move with the wind.

Texture: Open, airy.

Ultimate Size: 12"-30" tall x 8"-18" wide.

Rate of Growth: Moderate to rapid, depending on water.

Suggested Plant Partners: Utah Sweetvetch, Blanket Flower, Woolly Sunflower.

Availability: Widely available.

Cultivars: Appar, Maple Grove.

References:

USDA Plants Database.

Parkinson, Hilary et. al., Landscaping with Native Plants of the Intermountain Region, U.S. B.L.M. Technical Reference #1730-3, 2003, p.7.

Love, SL. 2009. Landscaping with Native Plants. University of Idaho Bulletin No. 862, p.18.

Meyer, Susan et. al., Landscaping on the New Frontier, Waterwise Design for the Intermountain West, Utah State University Press, Logan, 2009, p. 178.

Mee, Wendy et. al. Waterwise, Native Plants for Intermountain Landscapes, Utah State University Press, Logan 2003, p. 138.

Earle, A. Scott, Idaho Mountain Wildflowers, Larkspur, 2001, p.95.

Earle, A. Scott & James L. Reveal, Lewis and Clark's Green World, The Expedition and its Plants, Farcountry, 2003, p. 198.