Flowering Raspberry vs Blue Flax - TreeTime.ca

Flowering Raspberry vs Blue Flax

Rubus odoratus

Linum lewisii

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Flowering Raspberry
Blue Flax

The Flowering Raspberry is an ornamental shrubby plant that blooms with fragrant light purple flowers throughout the summer and has a large, decorative foliage of bright green leaves. The flowers resemble that of a wildrose, and the foliage turns a bright yellow in the fall. This cultivar produces small red raspberries, similar to that of a thimbleberry, but the fruit is mostly tasteless.

The Flowering Raspberry, also known as Virginia Raspberry or Purple-Flowered Raspberry, makes a great hedge plant and is a good choice for attracting birds to your yard.

Blue Flax is a native perennial wildflower known for its blue to violet flowers. Each flower lasts just a single day, but new blooms appear continuously, providing weeks of colour. This extended flowering period provides a reliable display from late spring into summer and attracts a variety of pollinators.

They can self-seed readily, so removing spent blooms helps manage their spread. Birds feed on the seeds, and when cooked, they are edible and are described as having a mild, nutty flavour. The plant grows in loose clumps with slender stems and fine foliage. Young plants are leafy, but as they mature, most leaves are shed.

Blue Flax grows well in a wide range of soils, including poor or sandy conditions, and is drought-tolerant once established. The deep root system helps to stabilize soil and prevent erosion. They are well-suited for pollinator gardens, restoration, naturalization, and xeriscaping projects.

As a perennial, it dies back to the crown each winter, it will regrow from the base in the spring. Avoid disturbing the crown during late winter to ensure healthy growth the following season.

Flowering Raspberry Quick Facts

Blue Flax Quick Facts

Zone: 3a
Zone: 3a
Height: 1.8 m (6 ft)
Height: 0.6 m (2.0 ft)
Spread: 4 m (12 ft)
Spread: 0.3 m (1.0 ft)
Light: any
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: normal
Moisture: dry, normal
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: fast
Life span: medium
Life span: short
Growth form: upright, rounded, clump-forming
Spreading: seeds - high
Suckering: high
Maintenance: high
Maintenance: medium


Toxicity: toxic to some animals, raw seed toxic
Bark: thornless orange
Flowers: purple
Flowers: pale to deep blue-violet
Bloom time: late spring to mid summer
Berries: red to purple, seedy
Firmness: firm
Flavor: tasteless
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Other Names: purple-flowered raspberry, virginia raspberry
Other Names: lewis flax, lewis wild blue flax, prairie flax, wild blue flax