Scarlet Flax Seeds - Linum grandiflorum Rubrum

Linum grandiflorum 'Rubrum' or scarlet flax is a very easy-to-grow annual. This variety features satiny, scarlet red flowers with a darker red eye over delicate, silver-green foliage. It blooms all summer long, perfect for sunny borders, flower beds and rock gardens. Direct sow in well-drained and light soil.

Linum grandiflorum is a hardy annual that belongs to the Linaceae family, native to North Africa. It germinates, grow, flowers and sets seed before the heat of summer sets in. In more humid climates, it blooms all summer long, tirelessly. 'Rurum' forms a small, narrow clump of branched stems, quickly reaching 40 cm in height and 15 to 20 cm in width. Its leaves are small, thin and lanceolate, silver-green colour in colour. The flowers are flat and cup-shaped, measuring 2 to 3 cm in diameter; they are made up of 5 intense, scarlet red petals with a satin-like sheen and a darker red central halo. Although each flower only lasts one day, they are continually renewed from early summer to autumn. This plant will self-seed easily in light soil, however not always true to type.

Flowering flax is a sun-loving plant that is very resistant to drought. The seeds can be scattered directly in sunny flower beds or rock gardens, creating lovely informal combinations with Love-in-a-mist, Amni visnaga, Californian poppies, and other perennials such as Veronica hastata, Verbena bonariensis, and Centranthus ruber. It also mixes well with ornamental grasses such as Stipa pennata or Muhlenbergia capillaris.