For me the key seems to be good winter drainage. I started with a single plant and put it in poor soil next to my patio. They reseed with abandon. Individual plants often seem to last only two or three years but there are always replacements growing. If they seed where I don't want them I pull them out or move them to where I want them.

Thanks for the extra info and link woodyoak... -bekcgarden, here is what I do: Upload your pic from your camera onto your computer. Set up an online picture hosting account (many sites are free). I use Photobucket, but Picasa and picturetrail are some others... Upload your desired pictures from your computer onto the site. To post a pic here you need to copy the HTML code of the uploaded picture. In the Message box here (where you write your post) paste your HTML code into the text wherever you like it. It will come up only as a series of letters and numbers. It isn't until you hit 'Preview Message' that you will see your picture. Good luck! Hope to see some pics of your flax ;-) PS. if you need any extra help with uploading pics feel free to email me... CMK

Hi, I would like some of your blue flax seeds. :) I have seeds for parsley, cantaloupe, squash, corn, nasturium, spinach, as well as those listed on my trade list. Please let me know if there is anything you would like. If you have any more chamomille I would like some of that too. Thank you. :)

I tried growing flax for fibers last year since my girlfriend has an old flax spinning wheel given to her by her grandmother but I finally wimped out. It was a really fun experiment in that the plants grew great and the flowers are really beautiful but wow is it a lot of work by hand to get it from plant to thread! I ended up stopping with the smell from the retting process just got too bad to bear. Maybe if you can get your hands on some of the new enzymes that they're trying that would make it much easier. I've tried pots but agree that they should grow fine. I don't know how close looks too crowded - at 1 inch spacing, they nicely supported each other since the plants were a bit floppy. Never tried to split them though.