Calendula is an undemanding and fairly easy-to-care plant that can not only decorate any summer cottage, but also become a traditional healer. Calendula is used for medicinal and decorative purposes. The enormous variety of varieties makes it possible to pick up calendula flowers that will improve the appearance of the flowerbed and add new colors. It is only necessary to devote a little time to the plant, and then it will delight you for many years.
Types and varieties of calendula
Calendula or marigolds are an annual herbaceous plant that belongs to the aster family. There are twenty species of plants. The most popular of them:
- medicinal - the only species that can be grown at home as an ornamental and medicinal plant;
- two-tone;
- field.
Calendula varieties are extremely diverse and include low-growing - up to 45 cm - plants, medium-sized - up to 60 cm, and tall - up to 85 cm. What does the calendula of varieties popular with gardeners look like?
- Pygmy is a plant up to 15 cm tall. Small double flowers are painted in apricot, golden, cream or orange.
- Calypso is a stunted variety up to 30 cm tall. The flowers are large, can be bright orange or golden orange.
- A green heart is a plant up to 60 cm tall. Small flowers are yellow, pale orange, or bright orange.
- Radio is a plant up to 55 cm tall. Small diameter hemispherical flowers. They can be bright orange or golden yellow.
- Pacific Beauty is a tall plant up to 80 cm tall. Hemispherical flowers with a huge variety of shades.
- Orange Flamingo - a variety of up to 60 cm in height. The flowers are small with an orange tint.
Where do seeds get?
You can buy seed in almost every flower shop. In addition, the attracted variety can be ordered in the online store or collect the seeds yourself. This is not a rare plant, so there will be no problems with buying seeds. The price of seeds depends on the distinctive features of the variety.
Choosing a landing place
Calendula loves light, but does not tolerate dry and hot weather. With a lack of light, the flowers will grow small, and the flowering period will be short. The most suitable place for planting calendula in the open ground and caring for it in the future is considered to be a partial shade.
The soil used to plant the plant must be fertile, nutritious, light and loose. Calendula loves moisture and, under optimal conditions, grows well. The area in which it will grow should be protected from strong winds, as they can harm and damage the flowers.
When to plant calendula in the ground?
It is best to plant seeds at the very beginning of spring or at the end of autumn - before winter. The main thing is that the soil meets the conditions described above. Sowing in late autumn will please early flowering. Calendula seedlings are planted in seedlings in April, and a month later transplanted seedlings to a permanent place. Calendula is a cold-resistant plant that can withstand temperatures up to -5 degrees. It is best that the soil is loose and crumbly. To check the condition of the soil, a lump of earth should be thrown up, if it has easily disintegrated, this means that the seeds can be sown. Before planting the seed material, the soil is dug up and humus is added per 1 m² of land - 4 kg. Seeds are deepened into the ground by about one to two centimeters, the distance between the rows is at least 30 cm. Under all conditions, shoots will appear in ten days.
Growing calendula seedlings
This method is considered more troublesome, but it makes it possible to get the first flowers much faster. For seedlings, it is possible to use pots, wooden boxes, as well as containers, but small containers are best suited. In the flower shop you can buy universal soil, which will be saturated with nutrients. Ready soil is poured into the container, make small indentations and sow the seeds. Then they close it with plastic wrap and place it in a room with an air temperature of 14-15 degrees. Shoots will appear in seven days. As soon as the seedlings get stronger and five leaves appear, you can plant the calendula in the open ground, and care for it in this case will not take much time. Before planting, the seedlings are tempered, exposing the container on the street for several hours. When growing undersized varieties, it is best to use the seedling method for faster ripening.
Features of plant care
Calendula, landing and care in the open ground for which does not require much effort, still requires compliance with certain rules. For long flowering, it is necessary to give the plant a little time:
- clean weeds regularly;
- to give the bushes splendor, the main stem of the plant should be pinched;
- when growing calendula for bouquets and cuts, this manipulation should not be carried out; the flowers will be large if there are few inflorescences.
Calendula, as a rule, is extremely ill. In wet and cool weather, powdery mildew, mucus and rot affect the plant. The following measures are used to combat diseases and pests:
- remove the diseased plant;
- the soil is treated with a disinfectant, you can use a solution of soda ash (50 g / 10 l of water), copper sulfate (300 g / 10 l of water).
For prophylaxis, the plant must be sprayed with a fungicidal agent, weeds should be removed in a timely manner, not overfed with nitrogen, and replanted every three years to a new place.
Feeding and watering
Calendula, planting and care in the open ground for which are quite simple, needs frequent watering. In the dry period, it needs to be watered three to four times, and in normal times, one to two times a week. As a top dressing, you can use any complex fertilizer that is applied once every fourteen days. Excess nitrogen fertilizer causes small inflorescences.
Combination with other plants
The size of the calendula makes it possible to plant it in a living border or a small fence that frames small plants. It looks great close up with evergreen shrubs. The color variety will adorn the Alpine slide and the Moorish lawn. Calendula can add bright notes if you plant it next to plants of dark shades. The undersized calendula looks spectacular in hanging baskets or pots.
And with what plants can I plant calendula yet? Planting the plant next to vegetable crops will be useful, since calendula is an antiseptic for the soil in which it grows. It disinfects the soil from root rot and other parasites, for example, ants, raspberries, butterfly cabbage and other insects. In addition, calendula helps increase immunity in plants growing nearby.
Seed collection
Calendula seeds are best harvested in the last month of summer. By this time, the flowering of calendula is coming to an end.
To obtain seeds for the purpose of subsequent planting, brown boxes are torn, which are in a horizontal position. Collect them in warm, sunny weather. Next, the seeds are dried and aired for a week in a dry room. Then they can be put in a paper bag and stored until planting.
Rules for the collection, drying and storage of calendula
For medicinal purposes, the entire terrestrial part of the plant is used completely, and therefore many gardeners are wondering when to collect calendula. Grass and flowers are harvested during the flowering period, i.e., from June to the first October frosts. Harvesting is carried out in warm, dry and clear weather, preferably at noon.
Inflorescences are chosen with fully opened baskets and carefully cut with scissors or torn off by hand. Throughout daylight hours, leaves and stems are collected, which are cut with a sharp knife or secateurs. The collected raw materials are stacked in pallets. Calendula is dried in the open air, protecting from moisture and the sun, in the attic or closed balcony. Raw materials are laid out in a thin layer on the material and periodically ted to dry well. Store finished raw materials in cool and dry rooms.
Healing properties
Calendula is a plant that is widely used in folk medicine, due to the significant number of medicinal properties. Quite often, calendula is used to treat diseases of the digestive tract, heart pathologies and diseases of the biliary tract. Calendula tincture is used to rinse the mouth and treat sore throats. An ointment and an infusion based on calendula is used to heal wounds. Tincture can also be used as a sedative. Calendula ointment is excellent as a treatment for damage to the skin and adjacent tissues (for example, bruises, cuts, burns).
In folk cosmetology, the plant is used as a healing, soothing, tonic, and also anti-inflammatory agent. In addition, calendula is used for the manufacture of masks and compresses, they have a beneficial effect on the skin, improving its condition and color.
It is necessary to remember about contraindications. Pregnant women should not use calendula. Hypertensive patients should also not use drugs from this plant, since the pressure can significantly decrease to dangerous values. Calendula cannot be used with other sedative medicines.
Interesting Facts
- The Queen of France Margarita Valois really liked the calendula, so her chambers were decorated with bouquets of these beautiful flowers.
- The Queen of Navarre described calendula in her writings, admiring her magnificence.
- The Luxembourg Garden, which is located in Paris, is decorated with a statue of Margarita with a bouquet of calendula in her hands.
- The Welshmen determined the weather by calendula: if the flowers didn’t open in the morning, it means it will be cloudy or rain, and there will be a storm in the sea.
- In China, this plant represents longevity.
- In India, calendula is a sacred plant.
- In the ancient Roman calendar, the calendula indicated the first day of the month.
- In ancient Greece, the medicinal properties of the plant were used.
- In the Middle Ages, calendula was used as food. From it they made a filling for pies, added to cereals and salads, and also prepared puddings.
- Calendula is considered a substitute for saffron.
Bright calendula flowers of multi-colored shades on a bright green background look very impressive. A flowering plant will look great in a single planting, as well as in the center of the composition.