Winona

We have been looking for historic/heirloom flax varieties used for linen production, which are surprisingly uncommon. Winona is the only flax cultivar currently available from the SSE collection that is not explicitly an oilseed type, and the existing literature is inconclusive on its primary use (oil vs. fiber). See for example doi.org/10.1139/cjps-2015-0337 - Winona is listed as "unknown" for use type and is not related to any of the other varieties studied. Naturally this seemed like a good reason to test it. We received the seed for 2024 and have grown it just this one season, and thus far it does not seem ideal for fiber. The plants were around 24" tall and not very prolific. That said, the seed production was also unimpressive, so the results from this year may not have been an adequate representation. We will continue to test in the coming years and update. For now, our supply is extremely limited. -- NOTE: we are now out of seed for the 2025 season, but check back for next year!