Safflower (Carthamus Tinctorius White) - Start Safflower seeds for this unique annual that is well-suited to sunny, hot conditions. Carthamus Safflower is a native of the Mediterranean, and it can be grown for beds and borders, containers, and cottages gardens. Easily grown from Carthamus Tinctorius seeds, this thistle-like plant produces lovely white, tubular flower heads during the summer months. The white Safflower plant has foliage that is thistle-like, but the prickliness is mild. Safflowers make excellent cut flowers for drying. The blooms, when dried for arrangements, are everlasting. These blooms also provide a source of white dyes for coloring silk and wool. The Carthamus Tinctorius herb can be used as a saffron substitute in rice dishes. Commercially, it is important as a source of good quality cooking oil.

How To Plant Safflower Seeds: When sowing white Safflower seeds outdoors, it should be planted at a depth of 1/4 inch in light soil in the early spring, before the last frost of the season. When growing the seed indoors, the seed should be sown in peat pots about 8 weeks before they are ready to be transplanted outdoors after danger of frost has passed. The seedlings should be planted out with a spacing of 6 - 10 inches in a sunny part of the garden. Protection from rabbits may be needed.