Description
Pot Marigold
A hardy annual with 2" single blossoms in cream, yellow, orange and shades in-between.
An ancient Marigold, known today as Calendula, is very different from what are commonly called the Marigolds of the Tagetes family.
History
“The Common Marigold is familiar to everyone, with its pale-green leaves and golden orange flowers. It is said to be in bloom on the calends of every month (the first day of each month on the Roman calendar), hence its Latin name, and one of the names by which it is known in Italy – fiore d’ognimese – countenances this derivation. It was not named after the Virgin, its name being a corruption of the Anglo-Saxan merso-meargealla, the Marsh Marigold. Old English authors called it Golds or Ruddes. It was however, later associated with the Virgin Mary, and in the seventeenth century with Queen Mary.” ~ From A Modern Herbal (1931)
Uses
The brightly-colored petals perk up salads and baked goods while the flowers are used for teas and in medicinal herbal remedies.
Recent articles suggest that orange marigold petals are fed to laying hens to make the color of their egg yolks a deeper color. A more important benefit is that the pigment of the petals contains beneficial compounds that aid eye health.
Growing Tip
Planting calendula can help control earwigs, as the tachinid fly, a predator of earwigs, can be encouraged by growing dill, fennel, calendula and alyssum.
From the soil to the seed to the food you eat - we'll help you grow your best garden!
2 Reviews
-
Best Calendula to grow
I know a lot of people who grow calendula, and really after the first blooms theirs looks like a weed. Not so with this perfect heirloom. Beautiful from the start to finish of the season.
-
Extremely Prolific
I grew this so I can try my hand at making my own skin care products. I started out with several seedlings but only 2 survived. They do start easily. All I needed were those 2 plants as they are very large and bloomed from July until the very end of October and now I have plenty of dried blooms. They are very cold hardy, even after I stopped watering they continued to bloom and went through at least 2 frosts without being covered. Just as a flower they are very pretty but nothing about them looks like a marigold so there is no mixing them up. They also attract a variety of insects. I grew these in my veg garden and occasionally had to tie them up when they tried to overgrow their neighbors. A new favorite for me.