ANNUALS > CALENDULA
IN THIS GUIDE
CALENDULA GUIDES
DeadheadingGrowing From SeedVarieties
In undivided through double conformation and in tones from cushy yellowed to cryptic orange , calendula is genuinely pretty .
The Calendula genus is a fellow member of the very large Aster family and it believably shows in the disk - shaped daisy - similar flowerheads .
C. arvensis
Indeed , Calendula arvensisflowers just wait like a yellow daisy !
The most well - known Calendula species and the one from which almost all cultivar descend isC. officinalis , popularly live as ‘ Pot Marigold . ’
All say there are only 15 to 20 specie in this pocket-size genus.1Calendula | Description , Uses , & Facts . ( 2009 , February 5 ) . Encyclopedia Britannica . remember March 13 , 2023 , fromhttps://www.britannica.com/plant/calendula
Overview
PreferredFull Sunday ; some in part subtlety
ExposureSheltered or exposed
Height25 - 50 cm
Spread25 - 50 centimetre
PreferredSand ; loam ; the Great Compromiser
MoistureWell - drained
pHAny
‘ Pot Marigold ’ is not to be fuddle with what one may call the ‘ Marigolds Proper ’ which bear fully double semi - dome - shaped golden flowers and which are members of a unlike genus , Tagetes .
Calendula species areherbaceous deciduous plantsand a ease up specie may be an annual , biyearly or dead - be perennial , calculate on the climate it is grown in .
C. officinalisand its cultivars are biennials or short - live perennials but are normally treated as annuals in the UK and other temperate region .
The Calendula flower – like those of other member of the Aster family – is actually an inflorescence or a composite flowerhead made up of unnumbered tiny flowers .
It has two parts , the capitulum , which is the central disc , comprising numerous record floret , and the ‘ flower petal ’ which are actually individual beam floweret .
The colors are sunny and prosperous , verging from a light bright yellow to deep robust orange .
Some variety raise atomic number 83 - coloured or graduate flower , and a few varieties make flowers with pinkish or scarlet edging .
A few new varieties grow creamy and pink bloom .
Habitat & Growing Conditions
The Calendula genus is aboriginal to westerly and Central Europe , South Asia , and Northern Africa.2Fiorentino , M. , Gravina , C. F. , Piccolella , S. , Pecoraro , M. , Formato , M. , Stinca , A. , Pacifico , S. , & Esposito , A. ( 2022 ) . Calendula arvensis : A Systematic Plant Analysis of the Polar Extracts from Its Organs . Foods,11(3 ) , 247.https://doi.org/10.3390/foods11030247
The ‘ original ’ aboriginal range ofC. officinalisspecies is restricted only to Spain and the Western Mediterranean neighborhood ; in stark contrast , the range of countries it has been introduced to spans nearly the whole world including even some sub - tropical and tropical regions.3Calendula officinalis . ( n.d . ) . Kew Royal Botanic Gardens . Retrieved March 13 , 2023 , fromhttps://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:187894-1
It was naturalised in the British Isles no subsequently than the 10th 100 when it was chiefly grow in bungalow garden for use in pot cooking.4ASE ’s Medieval Garden . ( 2021 , December 16 ) . UCL . retrieve March 13 , 2023 , fromhttps://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology-south-east/news/2021/dec/ases-medieval-garden-4-flowers
It mature in the uncivilized near inhabited domain in shelter location .
Why Grow Pot Marigolds?
The ‘ Pot Marigold ’ bloom has an fragrance rather than a aroma or a fragranceper see .
The odour is less like what one await from a flower and jolly like the rosin or sap that may ooze from tree bark with a note of spiciness .
Conversely , from a ocular stand the ‘ Pot Marigold ’ bloom verily epitomises flowers – if a child is asked to draw a prime , they will cease up drawing something that closely resemble a Pot Marigold !
Having sing the plant ’s praises , it would be remiss not to note a few other quality .
So , to round up , C. officinalisand its cultivars are valuate for their long flowering seasons – some varieties blossom all through summer and preceding autumn .
They figure among the more pest - resistant and disease - free plants , being affected by no more than a couple of trouble .
They are hardy to H5 , and you could uprise them as biennial most anywhere in the United Kingdom .
“ Typically however they are grown as ‘ half - hardy yearbook ’ , started from seed in the former outflow and dug up after the first punishing frosts , ” add Roy Nicol , a Master Horticulturist .
Finally , these plants really do – to use a well - worn gardener ’s idiom – boom on neglect .
Where To Grow Calendula
C. officinalisand its cultivar are not the most beautiful of ornamental but they are innocently and charmingly reasonably in their own right and are ideallysuited to cottage gardensand country garden .
The flower ’ open , cheery presentment make them excellent choices for potted plants situated on the terrace or the balcony .
Commonly considered a very ok edge plant , debate thatC. officinalisvarieties mountain range in superlative from 25 - 50 cm and gestate single through fully two-fold flowers in sick icteric through vibrant , rich orange .
As a result , one or another appropriate variety will be well - nigh everlasting as edge , edge , or centrepiece !
If you’re able to contend the two plants ’ somewhat dissent body of water needs , copulate them with bluebells to set up marvelous complements in flowered form and colours , while mix and matching stature .
Perhaps above all , C. officinalisis greet as a first - charge per unit familiar plant in the herb and vegetable garden .
It is not difficult to confuse some Pot Marigold varieties with Tagetes Marigolds!
It draws some pests aside from veggies which they ’d otherwise destruct and all repels other pests including harmful nematode worm .
Tomatoes , cucumber , beansand Asparagus officinales are among the vegetables that greatly gain from have Pot Marigolds as comrade .
Calendula Care
There is virtually nothing to educate Pot Marigold and other Calendulas .
Calendulas in world-wide can and do develop in miserable soil , not that you should imbed them in such soil ; at the same time , very plentiful and fertile soil or weighty grime does not suit them either .
A light soil composed of sand and loam with 30 - 40 % organic compost conflate in will suit these plants perfectly .
The soil must drain very well and should not stay on at all waterlogged .
They may be planted outside or in container and traditional Henry Clay throne though these should have sufficient drain hole .
The expert dirt pH forC. officinalisvarieties is in the slimly Acidic to electroneutral stove , that is 6.1 to 7.3 , not that it is necessary as this unfussy plant will grow even in Strongly Acidic through Slightly Alkaline soils .
The ideal weather condition are full Lord’s Day in the forenoon , moderate temperatures , and filtered or dappled afternoon sun or shade if the summers are very warm .
The plants ask sun to grow and bloom but the peak need protection from hot sunshine to observe freshness .
So much for ideal – this trooper of a plant will grace your garden even if condition are nowhere close to ideal .
Seedlings and grow plants require very regular watering ; they should be irrigate in moderation every other 24-hour interval .
Mature plants ’ urine pauperism are low to moderate in average weather condition .
Increase the amount and frequence of watering in hot weather as most miscellanea tend to wilt in the heating , and keeping the grease moist help to deter the fungal infection powdery mildew .
C. officinalis(and its varieties)happily ego - seedsbut does not spread too much nor is it considered invasive .
As long as plants are root in subject soil that has been better with organic matter , they take no fertilising .
mature plants growing in pitiable land or in container may be fertilised in early summer with a balanced fertiliser load to a strength that is less than recommended armorial bearing in mind that these plants do not reply well to to a fault rich growing term .
If your flora are outdoors and you wish to treat them as biennials or ( short - lived perennials ) , if you survive in a coldish region then before the oncoming of wintertime put a layer of mulch of 6 - 8 atomic number 96 around the tooth root .
If you anticipate a icing , protect the plants with horticultural sheepskin .
As Pot Marigold and full - size cultivars develop and mature , you may pinch off the growing stem to throttle height and trigger bushier growth .
Otherwise plants may develop a gangly form and be prone to legginess in warm weather .
Common Problems
The species and the variety are fairly pestilence - resistant and disease - detached plant in the main .
Indeed , in the vegetable garden they function as ‘ decoy flora ’ and will end up draw aphids to themselves .
Apart from aphid , they may succumb to powdery mildew , as Roy explains further :
“ This fungal infection flourish where plant life are dry at the etymon and was specially evident onC. officinalisplants during the drouth of summer 2022 . ”
