Thistle-like annual with spiny leaves and golden-orange flower heads. One of the oldest cultivated crops, grown for both red and yellow dye (from the flowers) and for safflower seed oil.
Hardiness ratings
| System | Rating | Temperature range | How to read it |
|---|---|---|---|
| USDA hardiness zone | Zone 4–11 | −34.4 °C to 10 °C | Zones where it can be grown as an annual — not a frost-tolerance rating |
| RHS hardiness rating | H4 | −10 °C to −5 °C | Plant needs at least this level of cold tolerance |
| Canadian plant hardiness zone | Zone 4–9 | −29 °C and warmer | Zones where it can be grown as an annual — not a frost-tolerance rating |
| Australian (ANBG) zone | Zone 2–7 | −10 °C and warmer | Zones where it can be grown as an annual — not a frost-tolerance rating |
As a tender annual, Safflower doesn't overwinter — the zone range shows where the growing season supports it. See the RHS rating for its actual cold tolerance.
Growing notes
- Yellow and red dyes extracted from the flowers — yellow dye washes out in water, red dye is fixed; both have been recovered from Egyptian tomb cloths over 4,000 years old
- Seed oil (high-oleic safflower oil) is a major commercial vegetable oil, particularly in the Indian subcontinent and the US Great Plains
- Drought tolerant — adapted to semi-arid conditions, deep tap-root reaches subsoil moisture
- Spiny — wear gloves to harvest flowers, plants are unfriendly to bare arms
Categories
Related plants
Cross-check Safflower against your zones