Calendula (marigolds) is an annual herbaceous plant in the Aster family. Calendula flowers are a medicinal raw material, a natural dye, sometimes used as a seasoning as a substitute for saffron. Breeders bred large-flowered and terry forms with lemon yellow, white, orange and orange-red petals. Let us consider in more detail what calendula grass is, how to grow it, to collect and apply it correctly for health and longevity.
Calendula flower: description
Calendula is a flower common in the temperate zone on all continents. It is decorative, it can be planted in flower beds, arabesques, mixborders and used as a pottery and indoor culture. The peculiar aroma emanating from the stems and flowers soothes and relaxes.
Calendula flower structure
The original habitat of the grass has not been identified. Natural thickets of various species are found in western Europe, on the Mediterranean coast and in southwest Asia. There are perennial forms of calendula.
Common species are grasses from 20 to 70 cm high. If the soil on which the plant is located is rich in organic matter, then the bushes are very sprawling and in diameter can reach 70-80 cm. Let us consider in more detail what the most common calendula looks like.
Marigold seeds
According to a botanical description, all representatives of the genus Calendula are herbaceous plants. The shoots are light green, ribbed. The leaves are oval, the edges are even, light green in color. All parts of the bush are covered with hairs forming pubescence, sticky and odorous on the shoots, more or less pronounced in different varieties. The root system is pivotal.
Inflorescences are baskets of orange or another color, which include tubular (in the center) and reed flowers (petals) with pistils and stigmas. After pollination, they give seeds. Reed flowers are barren. Seeds of calendula flowers are different in shape, mostly curved, light gray or sand. They can be torn off slightly greenish and dried under a canopy or indoors.
For your information! Calendula grass in the garden tends to deter insect pests, and its infusions can be used as an insecticidal agent of natural origin.
When calendula blooms
Depending on the variety, flowering occurs 40-50 days after germination. Therefore, in order to understand when the calendula blooms, you need to remember the date of its emergence.
Usually the bushes bloom in late May, and the height of flowering is observed in June. At this time, carry out mass collection of material. After removing some of the flowers, the shoots continue to grow and form new buds. Thus, the flowering of calendula continues throughout the summer until the onset of frost.
Useful properties of calendula
The benefits of grass are determined by the chemical composition of the raw materials. The flowers of the plant contain:
- carotenoids;
- essential oils;
- salicylic acid;
- flavonoids;
- saponins;
- alkaloids in small quantities.
Type of packaging suppositories with calendula manufacturer "MosFarma"
The saturated composition determines the beneficial properties of calendula grass:
- bactericidal - effective against streptococci and staphylococci;
- wound healing;
- anti-inflammatory;
- soothing.
In folk medicine, nails are used in the form of water infusions inside to improve bile secretion and as a sedative. Externally, alcohol and vodka tinctures, water infusions - for gargling and sore gums.
Calendula tablets
The pharmaceutical industry makes ointments and tinctures based on marigolds. The flower is part of the preparation "Rotokan" for gargling. Ointments are used to treat burns, difficult to heal wounds and ulcers. The medicine "Kaleflon" is an antiulcer drug, suppositories are used for anal fissures and hemorrhoids, female diseases. Tablets are used to treat diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.
Note! Since the active substances are potent, there are contraindications to the use of drugs from the marigolds.
Types and varieties of calendula garden perennial
In nature, there are from 12 to 20 species - representatives of the genus Calendula. To create decorative patterns, breeders use a hybridization technique. The most common are two species - Medicinal and Field, which pollinate pollen with two-color calendula (bicolor), Moroccan and other varieties.
Perennial large-flowered terry calendula does not tolerate winters with temperatures below -10 ° C.
Important! To preserve the flowers, in the fall they are transplanted into containers and transferred to a glazed balcony, in a greenhouse or on a windowsill.
Calendula Field(Calendulaarvensis)
Distributed in the fields of southern Europe as a weed plant, propagated along roads, in forest glades by natural dispersion of seeds.
Bushes 45-50 cm high, leaves are bright green, shiny. The flowers of the field variety are orange, simple, with a diameter of 1.5-2 cm.
Calendula officinalis(Calendula officinalis)
The most common variety of marigolds.
Flowers can be yellow, lemon or even whitish. Median tubular flowers are darker than reed flowers or the same in color. Flowers in diameter from 2 to 6 cm.
For medicinal purposes, the collection of flowers is carried out at the time of their full disclosure. Raw materials are dried under a canopy, stored in paper bags for no more than 1 year.
Other species
One of the popular varieties is the Empress. She has double flowers with a diameter of up to 10 cm. The color of the petals is from dark yellow to light orange, the average height of the plants is 45 cm. The culture animates mixborders, it is used as the main view on garden beds, in containers and tubs.
Geisha variety resembles chrysanthemum. Orange petals have red tips. The center of the flower has purple and black spots.
Terry variety with variegated petals - calendula Sonnenstein.
Empress
Geisha
Sonnstein
Calendula: planting and care in the open ground
Planting and caring for flowers is not difficult, the plant is very unpretentious. We will analyze in more detail how to plant a calendula correctly.
Growing marigold from seeds
When growing from seeds, it is important to understand when to plant calendula. Shoots can tolerate light frosts -1 ... -2 ° C. It is optimal to sow nails in open ground in spring, when the soil warms up to 12-14 ° C.
Landing is not difficult. Furrows 4-6 cm deep are made on the bed. Seeds are sown in moist soil in rows according to the 12 cm pattern between rows and 5-6 cm in a row.
Immediately after sowing, watering is not carried out, instead, they cover the garden with a plastic wrap. Shoots appear after 4-7 days. When the height of the plants reaches 10 cm, the bushes dive to a permanent place in the flower beds, rabatki or mixborders.
Attention! If the seed germination is high, the nails can be sown immediately in a permanent place, bypassing the seedling bed.
In this case, the seeds are immersed in moist soil at a distance of 15-20 cm from each other, after sowing the soil is mulched with a thin layer of peat.
Growing calendula seedlings
The seedling method of cultivating marigolds can be used if it is necessary to obtain early flowering, as well as in regions with short cool summers, as in Siberia.
The seedling age before planting should be 25-30 days, so the sowing is carried out taking into account the time when the seeds will germinate, 35-40 days before the planned date of planting in the ground.
For sowing seedlings take boxes or plastic greenhouses. Seeds are sown in a continuous row to a depth of 3-4 cm. The distance between rows is 10 cm.
Soil for growing seedlings is universal with a high proportion of humus. The optimum temperature for seedling growth is 22-24 ° C. Young plants are regularly watered, the soil between the rows is loosened.
Before planting, fertilizing with potassium humate is carried out. At the same time, the boxes are taken out for hardening in open air, left in openwork shade, gradually increasing the exposure time to round the clock.
What you need to grow calendula
The soil at the planting site is prepared in the fall, the turf and weed roots are removed. The flower bed is filled with a large amount of humus or rotted straw manure. The plant does not need mineral fertilizers.
Note! The introduction of rotted manure under the nails in the fall and during the summer allows to achieve a diameter of flowering heads of any variety up to 10 cm with long continuous flowering!
Planting is carried out to the depth of the bulk of the roots. The outlet with leaves should not be deepened, the plant will suffer. For the same reason, the layer of peat mulch after planting should be small, not more than 3 cm. After planting, abundant watering is carried out 1-2 times a week.
If we analyze where calendula grows in nature, it becomes clear that the plant needs a sunny place with permeable soil. Optimally, if the site is well ventilated.
With stagnation of air masses saturated with moisture, there is a danger of plant disease. Calendula coexists perfectly with salvia, petunias, marigolds. You should not plant a crop next to mint and other aromatic herbs.
Planting a flower and caring for calendula require regular feeding. Since the vegetation period of the culture is long, during the summer 2-3 fertilizing with organic or organic-mineral fertilizers is given under it. Suitable rotted manure, humus, peat in a dose of 5-6 kg per 1 m² of beds. Potassium humate with trace elements, Reasil is used with irrigation water.
Problems When Growing Calendula
It is very simple to grow calendula, in rare cases it is possible to slow down growth, stop flowering, and fungal diseases of the grass.
Powdery mildew on calendula
What to do if calendula has small flowers? Small flowers on marigold plants indicate a lack of organic fertilizers. Missing items should be entered.
Loosen the soil in the flowerbed and weed after each watering in order to accelerate metabolic processes in the soil and increase air access to the roots.
White or gray plaque on the leaves indicates powdery mildew. As soon as it appeared, Topaz should be sprayed with, every 10 days, repeated sprayings should be carried out in order to prevent the development of the disease.
If you plant a medicinal plant and a beautiful calendula flower in the garden, it will noticeably change, and a flower lover will be able to improve his health if desired. Planting a plant and caring for it in open ground are not difficult, and flowering can be long and plentiful.
