Safflower is a drought tolerant, annual, warm season broadleaf that can be seeded in cool soils. Safflower is exceptional at breaking hard pans, encouraging water and air movement into the soil profile, as well as scavenging nutrients from depths unavailable to most agronomic crops. It is capable of doing this due to its impressive taproot which has been observed to grow 8-10 feet in ideal conditions. Safflower provides excellent forage for grazing but most varieties become prickly with maturity, rendering the plants unpalatable for livestock. Baldy safflower is one of the world's first spineless safflower varieties and has been developed specifically for grazing and cover crops. Baldy can be handled with bare hands even at maturity and is palatable for livestock grazing. Green Cover Seed owns the exclusive marketing rights for Baldy spineless safflower.
When is the right time to plant? Compare the germination temperature listed below to your soil temperature. Read this article for more info: When Can I Start Planting?
| Basic Info | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maturity (Days) | Seeds/lb | C/N at Maturity | Growth Habit | Root Type/Depth | Cold Kill (F) | Dry Matter Potential(Tons/acre) |
| 110 - 140 | 15000 | High | Upright | Deep Taproot | 24 | 1.5 - 3.5 |
| Use and Characteristics | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N Fix Potential | Lasting Residue | Palatability | Hay Harvest | Regrowth | Deep Compaction | Surface Compaction | Weed Suppression | Crimp Kill |
| Excellent | Very Good | Poor | Poor | Excellent | Fair | Very Good | Easy | |
| Planting | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Plant Depth | Min Germ Temp(F) | Drilled Seed Rate (lbs/acre) | Broadcast Seed Rate (lb/acre) |
| 1 - 1 1/2" | 40 | 15 - 20 | 25 - 30 |
| Tolerance | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heat | Drought | Shade | Wet Soil | Low Fertility | Low pH Soil | High pH Salinity | High pH Calcareous |
| Excellent | Very Good | Fair | Poor | Very Good | Good | Very Good | Very Good |