Transgenic plants of Linum usitatissimum L. and L. suffruticosum ssp. salsoloides (Lam.) Rouy. were obtained through direct transformation of protoplasts with PEG, as well as through Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation of plastocytes. Direct transformation with the marker gene HPT in L. suffruticosum occurred in relative frequencies of about 2 × 10 −3 . The efficiencies of Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of plastocytes with the genes NPT II and GUS strongly depended on the plant genotypes and on the bacteria densities as concluded from experiments with six genotypes of L. usitatissimum. Abnormal flower morphology observed in two transgenic lines of the cultivar Bionaa was transmitted to the progeny. The efficiencies and advantages of the techniques used here are compared with the previously successfull Agrobacterium-mediated hypocotyl transformation.