Calendula offers so many benefits to the gardener
Calendula does it all! This cheerful yellow and orange flower is beloved by pollinators and a great cutting flower; the more you harvest, the more she flowers—well into fall. Plus, calendula is edible, providing both food and healing medicine. Learn more about one of my favorite flowers, including growing tips.
Benefits of Calendula
Included in a mixed bouquet, calendula (Calendula officinalis) flowers—also called “pot marigold—are sure to gladden the hearty of the recipient. Irresistible waves of bright yellow and orange daisy-like flowers greet me on my morning rounds, lifting my mood even on the worst of days.
- Calendula blossoms can be used in cooking—eaten fresh in salads, added to rice, or dried and used as a poor man’s saffron, calendula petals make an ordinary meal seem special. See our recipe for Mixed Greens With Calendula.
Read Next
- Calendula has been used medicinally for centuries. Ancient Romans grew them to treat scorpion stings! In the Middle Ages calendula was a common remedy for everything from smallpox to indigestion. Today’s herbalists use it to make a healing salve for sunburn, chapped lips, minor burns, cuts, and scrapes. See more about calendula’s healing properties.
- Calendula is a wonderful companion plant in the garden. Bees and native pollinators are drawn to these flowers, making them a useful addition to your vegetable garden. Plus, calendula repels many pests!
Enjoy seeing calendula in the garden!
Types of Calendula
The calendula family includes about 20 species of bushy annuals and a few perennials that are native from the Canary Islands through the Mediterranean area to Iran. They were found growing wild in the Holy Land by crusaders who brought them back to Europe. Legend has it that St. Hildegard of Bingen gave the plant the name “Mary’s gold” in honor of the Virgin Mary. To this day calendulas are sometimes called “pot marigolds” though they are unrelated to regular garden marigolds (Tagetes).
Calendula Varieties
- ‘Pacific Beauty’ is my favorite but at one time we grew 8 different kinds. There are lots of interesting varieties.
- For something unusual try ‘Porcupine’ which has spiky, bright orange, quilled petals,
- ‘Touch of Red’ has dark red underneath and on the edges of each petal.
- ‘Triangle Flashback’ has a soft, apricot-pink color.
How to Grow Calendula
Calendula is easy to grow from seeds directly sown in the garden.
- Plant seeds early spring onward or start them indoors and set out the sturdy seedlings. They can be started indoors 6 weeks before the last frost date for extra early blooms.
- Choose a sunny site. The more sun, the better.
- Soil needs to be moderate-rich and drain well. Calendula will tolerate poor conditions but perform better when it has nourishing soil. Once established, calendula do not need any extra fertilizing or feeding.
- Calendula grow nicely in the vegetable garden. Good companions are: Cucumbers, Tomatoes, Peas, Carrots, Asparagus, Spring salad vegetables.
- The flowers bloom best in cooler weather with low humidity.
- Cut them back and they will reward you with new growth and more flowers when the weather cools off. These plants are pretty tough and can take some frost. They will keep right on blooming until a harden freeze finally kills them.
- Allow some plants to produce mature seeds to scatter where you want to see calendula seedlings in subsequent seasons.
Calendula Salve
If you would like to try making a simple calendula salve, here’s an easy recipe:
- Steep one cup of fresh calendula petals in one cup of olive oil in a glass jar on a sunny windowsill for about a week.
- Strain the oil.
- Melt 1/4 cup of beeswax and mix in the oil.
- Pour into small sterilized jars and seal.
- Let solidify overnight before using.
- For the fullest effect, harvest the petals during the hottest part of the day, when the resins have risen to the surface of the flower.
A word of caution: People with allergies should test the salve on a small spot on the inside of the forearm and monitor it carefully for any adverse reactions.
This is one plant that is good for the garden and for the gardener alike. Make room for some comforting calendula.
Even the tiny tree frogs love it!
Want to grow more edible flowers in your garden. Here’s a list of more flowers that you can eat!
Robin Sweetser
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You can't miss with calendula seeds. I found a few plants growing in a gas station lot at the end of October five years ago. I took them to my garden, jammed them in - they had roots - and within a week they were strong enough to bloom a little more, produce seeds and self sow. That was it. I now have so many that I need to thin them and remove seedlings that take root in gravel, etc. I took some seeds to my friend's house and simply scattered them on an empty patch of soil last November. Didn't sow them in, no need. This spring, they came up and filled in and are currently spreading. I've planted seeds in various areas at all times of year expect the dead of winter and they always produce new plants. Fairly easy to control, in general, but you will definitely need to spot seedlings that pop up in nearby spots. I collect seeds as well as just let them self seed naturally. Strong winds can bend them so I have small trellis/fencing among the patch and they stay upright this way. In a vase, they will open and close day and night for a few days but don't last much longer than that. Still, you will have cheerful blooms through mid-November in cold climates.
I've been growing the Erfurter strain (for medicinal purposes) and the colors of orange and yellow are simply, kinda, the gold standard. Perfect tones and a joy to pick.
Your article, while well written, contained an error. Scorpions don’t BITE .. they STING!
Am in Arizona and am well aware of these nasty critters...and believe me their stinger is quite potent!
I make a facial toner and a face cream with Calendula as the base, its very popular for evening skin tone. Its also very good for men with "shaving rash". The Calendula is the Go to Herb for me!
I have been growing these happy little faces for many years. Surprising how few folks have not hear of them. I mix them w/ blue Bachelor Buttons.
I planted calendula this year for the first time and it is doing wonderfully. I want to make the salve with it and was wondering if it would be best to dry the flowers first before infusing them in oil since I had read to dry dandelion flowers a bit first so the moisture from the flowers wouldn't create mold in the oil. Has this ever happened to you with using fresh calendula flowers?
I have never had any mold form. I pick the flowers during the hottest part of the day so any dew has dried and the resin comes out on the petals. They are actually sticky. I have never tried drying them first but it may work if the resin dries on the petals and then becomes infused into the oil. Give it a try!
I make my oil with fresh but I use a yogurt maker to keep the temp of the oil at (or around 110 degrees). You can use dried but I took a recipe from "James Green Herbal Medicine Makers Handbook" (Ethyl Oil preparation). "Sticky" herbs of any kind - Grind your dried herb, LIGHTLY dampen with alcohol until 'just' damp, let it sit for an hour, then add to oil. The alcohol softens and breaks down the sticky substance and will not effect the quality of the oil. Works like a charm. By the way, I collect more of the petals than buds, this gives the oil a beautiful glowing orange color.
