May 26th- 30th, 2025 is Summer – Middle of SHOMAN (Lesser ripening) -23rd KOU “BENIBANA (safflowers) bloom”.
BENIBANA is a plant that has been deeply involved in the lives and culture of the Japanese people since ancient times. It is said to have been introduced to Japan during the NARA period (in 700s), and already appeared in the MANYOSHU (Japan’s oldest collection of poetry). During the EDO period (in 1600s-1800s), BENIBANA industry was a major industry.
I sowed the seeds of BENIBANA (unfortunately, they are not cultivated in the HOKUSHIN area). Though the 23rd KOU tells “BENIBANA bloom”, in my case it’s “BENIBANA sowing.”
The seed packet I bought last year says “In cold regions, the sowing season is from the end of April to the end of May, and they bloom from July to August.
And it also says “In warmer regions, they bloom in the middle of May in case of autumn’s sowing and bloom in the early June in spring’s sowing. In ordinal regions, they bloom in the early June in autumn’s sowing and bloom in the middle of June in spring’s sowing.”
I see, the 23rd KOU must be correct!
The HOKUSHIN region where I live is a cold area, so I will have to wait more than a month for seeing the flower. Let’s look forward to the blooming.
