Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria

View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora

Prairie Flax (Linum lewisii) usually carries delicate powder-blue flowers on nodding stalks. However, the flowers are sometimes white or lavender. It is a perennial, blooming in summer over a long period. The needle-like leaves make a fine, lacy contrast with the wider blooms. It grows fast to one to one and a half feet tall.


This plant prefers full sun, takes low water, but needs good drainage and does not grow well in clay soil.  

Plant type

Perennial herb

Size

2 - 3 ft Tall

Form

Upright

Growth rate

Moderate

Dormancy

Winter Deciduous

Calscape icon
Color

Blue, Lavender, White

Flowering season

Summer, Spring

Special uses

Deer resistant

Sun

Full Sun

Water

Very Low, Low

Ease of care

Easy

Cold tolerance

Tolerates cold to -20° F

Soil drainage

Fast, Medium, Slow

Soil description

Prefers sandy or loamy soils. Does not grow well in clay soils.
Soil PH: 5.0 - 7.0

Propagation

For propagating by seed: No treatment.

Site type

Dry open ridges, slopes

Plant communities

Foothill Woodland, Lodgepole Forest, Pinyon-Juniper Woodland, Red Fir Forest, Subalpine Forest, Yellow Pine Forest

Combine with complementary colored annuals or other perennial herbs such as California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica), Golden Yarrow (Eriophyllum confertiflorum) and Clarkia species

Bats
Caterpillars
Butterflies

Butterflies and moths supported

0 confirmed and 9 likely

Confirmed Likely

The Nutmeg

Anarta trifolii

Alfalfa Looper Moth

Autographa californica

Tobacco Budworm Moth

Chloridea virescens

Variegated Fritillary

Euptoieta claudia