Yellow Magic! Spring gardens turn yellow, orange, and crimson!?
Misha: This time we’re going to try growing safflower.
Hachibee: I know safflower! It’s used for safflower oil and dyes, right?
Benny: Safflower, native to Africa, has been useful to people since ancient times. There’s even a story that safflower was used as a dye for the bandages wrapped around Egyptian mummies.
Hachibee: That’s amazing! And who are you?
Benny: I’m Benny, the safflower fairy. Ask me anything about safflower.
Misha: Safflower has been so familiar to our lives since ancient times, but we don’t know much about how it grows. Let’s get started and see how safflower grows!
Safflower “Almost Weekly” Cultivation Report
4/6 種植え
Hachibee: Wow, it’s quite large, and the shell looks pretty hard.
4/13 Germination!
Hachibee: The sprouts have already come up! That was quick!
Benny: Safflower is tough. It germinates quickly, and look at these thick, lush green sprouts.
Misha: We need to move them from the pots to the ground right away.
4/20 The leaves begin to grow larger.
Benny: First, it takes root in the ground, and then it grows rapidly from there.
4/27 The leaves begin to grow.
Hachibee: All the buds have started to grow three leaves at once, then four leaves!
Misha: At the same time, the leaves have also started to grow longer horizontally.
5/4 Leaves begin to sprout one after another.
Hachibee: It seems like the number of leaves increases every morning when I look at it.
Misha: At the same time, the leaves have also started to grow longer horizontally.
5/11 The stem begins to grow
Benny: Now, it’s finally time to grow upwards.
5/18 The stems grow longer, and the leaves begin to grow in a three-dimensional manner.る
Hachibee: Wow, before I knew it, the thick stems have grown this tall!
Misha: And leaves are sprouting from the top of the plant at an incredible rate.
Benny: I love the warm sunshine and breeze of spring. I’ll still be growing lots of leaves!
5/25 The leaves increase and the size grows.
Hachibee: Wow, that’s amazing!
6/1 Buds form
Hachibee: Wow! There are already buds! So fast!
Misha: It’s only been about two months since we planted the seeds, so they’re growing incredibly fast.
6/8 The grass grows taller.る
Benny: This still has a lot of potential!
Misha: That’s true. Usually, most flowers stop growing taller once they form buds, but I wonder how tall safflowers will grow!?
6/15 The buds begin to open.
Hachibee: Those little leaves that grow around the buds are so stylish.
6/22 Blooming!
Hachibee: The flower has bloomed! Or rather, it’s not so much that it bloomed, but rather that the petals burst out from the tip of the bud like a fountain. It’s a bit unusual, isn’t it?
Misha: It’s such a strange flower, almost like a drawstring pouch. And I was also surprised by how slowly it blooms, more than 20 days after the bud forms, which is quite a contrast to how quickly the plant grows.
Benny: I used to make and store safflower oil and safflower dye.
6/29 Full bloom
Hachibee: The whole area is dyed yellow! It’s beautiful.
Benny: Safflower blossoms start out a vibrant yellow. As they oxidize, they gradually turn orange, and finally a deep crimson. It’s fun to watch this gradation of colors.
7/6 The flowers wither.
Hachibee: Ah, the leaves wither along with the flowers.
7/13 Leaves wither
Hachibee: It grew quickly, but it withered away just as quickly, didn’t it?
Benny: Thick and short. That’s the way of life for safflowers, hehe.
7/20 Harvest
Hachibei: It’s completely withered. It’s withered in such a satisfying way.
Benny: When it’s time to grow, it grows. When it’s time to bloom, it blooms. And when it’s time to wither, it withers. This purity is the motto of the safflower.
Misha: There were so many yellow, orange, and crimson flowers in bloom, it was like a yellow carnival, so lively! We were also able to collect so many seeds, growing safflowers made me feel so happy.
Benny: You should definitely try growing safflower sometime! Bye for now!
~A quick tip! Safflower cultivation points~
Cultivation difficulty：★★☆☆☆
Large seeds with a high germination rate
Robust and vigorous growth
And fast growth
A huge yield of flowers and seeds
A flower you can watch grow with peace of mind in every respect
Not very cold-hardy, so spring sowing is recommended
