How to Grow Safflowers Canada
On this page
In Canada, safflowers go in the ground mid April to late April.
Timing is the decision that matters most in Canada: there are 6 separate regional sowing windows, ranging from early March in Pacific Coastal Mild to late May in Far North & Alpine.
The short answer
- Plant
- Mid April to late April
- Site
- 6+ hours of sun, soil pH 6–7.5
- Biggest risk
- Alternaria leaf spot of safflower
Core growing advice on this page is checked against named horticultural sources — see References.
Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius)
3 sources cited · Verified
Regional Planting Calendar
| Region | Sow |
|---|---|
| Central Continental derived | mid April to late April |
| Prairies & Short-Season Continental derived | early May to late May |
| Pacific Coastal Mild derived | early March to mid March |
| Far North & Alpine derived | late May to early June |
| Atlantic Maritime derived | late April to early May |
| Inland Valleys & Southern Lakes derived | mid April to late April |
Rows marked derived are interpolated between regions our sources do state, because no source we consulted gives a figure for that region specifically. They are deliberately wider to reflect that uncertainty.
Central Continental - detail & sources
DERIVED from this region's own frost normal, not quoted for the region. Rosette stage tolerates light frost, so safflower can be direct-seeded shortly before the last frost, needing at least 120 frost-free days and 2200 growing degree days to mature. Applied to a mean last frost of 30 April (NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 for the USA; Environment and Climate Change Canada normals for Canada), that gives 16 April to 30 April. Your own local frost date is what matters — a region spans a range, and this figure comes from one representative station within it.
Prairies & Short-Season Continental - detail & sources
DERIVED from this region's own frost normal, not quoted for the region. Rosette stage tolerates light frost, so safflower can be direct-seeded shortly before the last frost, needing at least 120 frost-free days and 2200 growing degree days to mature. Applied to a mean last frost of 21 May (NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 for the USA; Environment and Climate Change Canada normals for Canada), that gives 7 May to 21 May. Your own local frost date is what matters — a region spans a range, and this figure comes from one representative station within it.
Pacific Coastal Mild - detail & sources
DERIVED from this region's own frost normal, not quoted for the region. Rosette stage tolerates light frost, so safflower can be direct-seeded shortly before the last frost, needing at least 120 frost-free days and 2200 growing degree days to mature. Applied to a mean last frost of 18 March (NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 for the USA; Environment and Climate Change Canada normals for Canada), that gives 4 March to 18 March. Your own local frost date is what matters — a region spans a range, and this figure comes from one representative station within it.
Far North & Alpine - detail & sources
DERIVED from this region's own frost normal, not quoted for the region. Rosette stage tolerates light frost, so safflower can be direct-seeded shortly before the last frost, needing at least 120 frost-free days and 2200 growing degree days to mature. Applied to a mean last frost of 5 June (NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 for the USA; Environment and Climate Change Canada normals for Canada), that gives 22 May to 5 June. Your own local frost date is what matters — a region spans a range, and this figure comes from one representative station within it.
Atlantic Maritime - detail & sources
DERIVED from this region's own frost normal, not quoted for the region. Rosette stage tolerates light frost, so safflower can be direct-seeded shortly before the last frost, needing at least 120 frost-free days and 2200 growing degree days to mature. Applied to a mean last frost of 7 May (NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 for the USA; Environment and Climate Change Canada normals for Canada), that gives 23 April to 7 May. Your own local frost date is what matters — a region spans a range, and this figure comes from one representative station within it.
Inland Valleys & Southern Lakes - detail & sources
DERIVED from this region's own frost normal, not quoted for the region. Rosette stage tolerates light frost, so safflower can be direct-seeded shortly before the last frost, needing at least 120 frost-free days and 2200 growing degree days to mature. Applied to a mean last frost of 30 April (NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 for the USA; Environment and Climate Change Canada normals for Canada), that gives 16 April to 30 April. Your own local frost date is what matters — a region spans a range, and this figure comes from one representative station within it.
Quick Facts
At a Glance
Soil & Growing Conditions
Growth Stages
Harvest & Storage
When to pick: Ready to harvest when most of the leaves turn brown and the seeds are white and hand-thresh easily; typically early to late September in the northern US (Wisconsin Extension). Takes 110-140 days from planting to maturity (Wisconsin Extension; NDSU).
Diseases
Pests
Safflower Photo Gallery
Plan your Safflowers planting
When to sow and plant Safflowers depends on your own frost dates. Check the Canada vegetable planting calendar. To work out where it fits in your beds, sketch your plot in the free Garden Layout Planner.
Growing Safflower in another region
Sowing dates, frost timing and local advice differ by country. Use the guide for where you garden.
Sources
The full list of 3 sources behind this guide (NDSU Agriculture Extension, Royal Horticultural Society, Wisconsin Corn Agronomy, University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension) is in the references of our UK guide to safflowers; they describe the plant itself, which is the same wherever it grows.
Frequently Asked Questions
When should I sow safflowers in Canada?
In Pacific Coastal Mild, from early March. In Far North & Alpine, wait until late May. Treat these as a guide rather than a fixed date — the governing rule is to sow only once frost risk has passed and temperatures are reliably warm enough.
When do I sow safflowers?
Sow early March to early June.
What soil pH do safflowers need?
A pH of about 6–7.5. That span reflects genuine variation between the authorities we cite rather than a single agreed figure — the References section lists each source's exact range.
What problems affect safflowers?
Our data links 2 diseases and 6 pests to this crop. See the sections above for each one and how to manage it.
Plan next season before the problems start
Short-season growing is arithmetic before it is technique: days to maturity against frost-free days decides what will finish at all. The Canada Garden Planner does that subtraction for your region before you sow.
Get the Canada Garden Planner →Instant PDF download · Written for Canadian growing conditions
How this guide is put together
The growing data on this page — sowing windows, pests, diseases, soil and site requirements — comes from named horticultural sources, listed in References below, checked against Canadian hardiness-zone and frost-date data, with provincial agriculture and university extension sources cited directly where one exists for a crop. An automated pipeline assembles that verified data into the page you're reading: it selects which facts to lead with and builds the surrounding prose and layout. It does not invent a date, a source or a number — where a verified value for a field isn't available, the page leaves it out rather than guessing. A person reviews and publishes each page; nothing goes live unverified.
Vegetable Growing Guides Canada
Last verified 2026-09-03
Related guides
More from the same group (grains & pseudo-grains):
Growing advice for your part of Canada
Timing and conditions change a lot inside one country. These guides cover frost dates and growing seasons region by region.
Where To Go From Here
Take this crop from reading into a written plan for your own beds.
Keep going
Plan the next step
Use the printable SoilCommander planner for your region to turn this guide into sowing dates, bed layouts and weekly garden tasks.