1. It has wonderful bright rich golden flowers that bloom continuously throughout the summer. Ergo its really pretty.
2. It grows fast from seed and will be flowering within 8 weeks from seed, sometimes faster. Just scatter the seeds and lightly cover them. It does need regular water, but a soaker hose wound through the bed and turned on for 30 minutes every day will have the whole area looking like a golden field very shortly.
3. It can be seeded continuously throughout the summer months if desired ensuring that there are always bright sunny flowers in the garden.
4. The butterflies bees and especially the native bees LOVE it. They can be seen busying visiting the flowers every day and it provides essential nectar and pollen at a time when most native plants have stopped producing.
5. It has wonderful scented leaves and flowers. They have a special tang of their own making them very attractive and delightful to smell.
6. While we like the smell of the flowers and leaves the deer and rabbits don’t so they leave the plant alone. Great for gardens that have wild animal problems.
7. It likes full sun and tolerates the heat very well. Its great to look at out the window when its too hot to go outside, it helps bring the garden inside just by admiring it.
8. It can help repel aphids, snails, slugs and cabbage looper if planted close to susceptible plants.
9. Leaves are edible and very nutritious, rich in vitamins and minerals. Can be used in salads or used in stir fry, soups or other dishes. They have a interesting sweetness followed by a salty taste which is quite unique. Some people love it some hate it. Try if for yourself and find out.
10. Petals can be used in cooking as substitute for saffron. Used to color rice dishes as well as potatoes, soups and desserts.
11. Flowers are used as a herbal remedy for many different maladies most commonly its used in the form of a cream for skin conditions, wounds, sprains, bites stings and other skin problems.
12. Makes a wonderful cut flower, lasts well and provides an interesting scent and sunny cheerfulness in the house.
13. Needs very little care once established. Although dead heading will encourage plants to flower more and more.
14. Its hard not to feel happier and smile when you look at a bed of calendula flowers!
I love these plants, they are one of my favorites. I always grow our rows where they can be seen from the house so that we can all enjoy them even when its too hot to go outside. We harvest our flowers every two days during the summer months and every day there are more flowers coming along.
Often known by their common name of Pot marigold they are indeed a member of the marigold family. However I find these flowers much more charming. I don’t like the smell of marigolds while I know some people who do, they seem to be few and far between. Also marigolds tend to attract small insects, often thrips in large numbers. If you shake your marigold plant you can see little white dots flying out of it. Pot marigold does not have this problem. Additionally rabbits eat marigolds. I was told long ago that they did not and to plant them around things I wanted to protect to keep the rabbits off. One morning I looked out my window to see a rabbit with a huge marigold bush in its mouth. It proceeded to eat the thing down to nothing. So much for that idea.
If you want to grow pot marigold (calendula) its not too late this year, or plan for next year. We offer seed here.
Truly right, that is wonderful flowers