By: Nancy Garrison, Horticultural Advisor, Santa Clara County
Adapted from Lyle Pyeatt's research in 1983
Few annual flowers are as easy to grow as calendulas; they are excellent for flower bed plantings and also grow quite well in containers. Calendulas make good long lasting cut flowers as well. A member of the daisy family, the flowers resemble the marigold and measure from two and one half to four and one half inches in diameter; so they are sometimes called pot marigold. The flower colors range from orange, apricot and bright yellow, to lemon, cream and nearly white. Maximum height in standard cultivars is about twenty four inches, while dwarf cultivars grow to only twelve inches. Plants are somewhat branching, with leaves that are long and narrow, slightly sticky and aromatic.
Pot marigold (or Calendula) is a perennial or annual herb originating from southern Europe and Eastern Mediterranean area (Flora of the British Isles, 1987, New crops for temperate Regions, 1993). Marigolds are a well known garden plant. There are two varieties easily distinguishable by their fruit sizes, C. vulgare with a fruit diameter of 3.5 mm and C. microcarpum with a fruit diameter of 1.5 - 3.0 mm.
The annual form is more widely grown and grows to a height of 50-75cm and is usually multi-stemmed, with a strong taproot. The vegetative parts of the plant are mid-green in colour and the stems are angular and covered in fine hairs. The lower leaves of the plant are paddle-shaped whilst the upper leaves are smaller and more pointed. The composite flowers are yellow to orange and are born on multi-branched stalks. The flower heads are heterogamous. i.e. the outer flowers are female whilst the inner flowers are disk flowers which are pseudo-hermaphroditic and sterile female. The fruit is an achene made up of winged and unwinged types. The seeds are grey or light brown in colour and vary in shape, decreasing in size towards the center of the head. The thousand grain weight for Calendula is 9.6g.
The plant has many traditional culinary and herbal uses. The dye obtained from the flowers is used to colour and flavour foods like rice, soups, cheeses and butter. An infusion made from the crushed foliage has cleansing and antiseptic properties and is used for soothing and healing skin wounds, also as a remedy for certain digestive disorders. more info click here .
More Articles...