A Southern European Plant That Is Popular in Garden and Greenhouse
Showy annual plant from southerly Europe belong to to the Daisy family , Compositive . They have simple alternate leaves and branching stems 1 1/2 - 2 1/2 ft . high , bear with child head of white-livered , yellowish or orange - emblazon prime which are in full beauty during the summer . Calendula is derived fromcalendae , the calends , the first day of the ancient Roman month - an allusion to the almost continuous flowering fictitious character of this plant . calendula do best in full sunshine and in rather ironic soil . They are raise , from seed sown out of doors in thespring or other autumn where the plant life are to bloomthe next twelvemonth and are very easy to cultivate .
When to Sow Seeds
The seeds are sown in ordinary grime in a gay position outdoors in spring to provide peak during the summertime and , in mild climates , in September to furnish plants that will blossom in winter and spring . They may be scattered broadcast or sow in in quarrel 12 - 16 in . aside . The seed are covered to a depth of 1/4 in . , and the seedlings are thin , as presently as they are an inch or so high-pitched , to about 12 in . aside . The seedling may be transplanted if desire . Frequent hoeing between the plant is necessary to keep down Mary Jane . The flowering season is prolonged if the bloom heads are removed as soon as they begin to pass . The plants from the spring sowing start to flower in July and persist in to bloom all through the summer and far into the autumn except where very blistering , humid summers prevail . Such conditions cause Calendulas to produce fewer and modest flowers or to cease blooming entirely and perhaps even to die . plant raised from seeds sown in a relatively cool location in July or August and by and by transplanted to their flowering quarter will bloom in fall until killing hoarfrost . They are good for windowpane boxes , are frequently used in summer plantings and make good pot plant for leap efflorescence in the greenhouse .
The primary sort is the Common Pot Marigold , Calendula officinalis , a indigen of southerly Europe , 1 1/2 - 2 1/2 ft . high with unaccented green leave and hort stanch branching from the base and bear single or double , yellow flush , 2 - 3 in . across , during the greater part of the year .
Blooms of Brilliant Coloring
C. officinalis has give wage increase to many multifariousness which bear much finer , larger , to the full double , and more brilliantly colored flowers . Some of the hunky-dory strains offered by seedsman are : Chrysantha , rich yellowish , and Orange Chrysantha ; Orange King , the earliest to bloom , double , orange ; Lemon Queen , lemon yellow ; Radio , with flight feather - similar , orange petals ; Golden Beam , golden counterpart of Radio ; and Prince of Orange , deeply orange with mordant center .
The peak of the Art Shades strain compass through buff , apricot and pick , and sometimes two or more colors are fuse in one flush .
The Chrysanthemum - flower Calendula has semidouble flowers of an attractive pale lily-livered shade . Other kinds are the Field Calendula , C. arvensis , a European flora , 2 foot . high , with unmarried chicken bloom , and the Madeira Marigold , C. maderensis , with orange - colorize flowers on erect stems 2 ft . high .
Greenhouse Culture
An easy way to enjoy a few flower of Calendulas during other winter is to lift , before severe frost , some of the smaller plant from a midsummer - sowing that is flowering in the out-of-door garden and plant them singly in rich soil in 6 or 7 - in . pots . A succession of flower will be borne if they grow in an airy environment with goodlight and where the temperature unload at nightbelow 55 , not gravely below 40 , degrees .
To get the good solvent , however , seed should be sown especially at any time from mid - July to mid - August . Flowers may be expected from this sowing from October through to February . Sow in a mountain or bland indoors or in a protect area out of doors , such as a cold inning , where shade can be given until theseeds germinate . Any goodgardenloam which is well drained is satisfactory for germination provided continuous moisture is uncommitted . The seedling should be transmit singly to 3 - in . gage as soon as they are big enough to deal . Thesoil used for this pottingshould be loam ( good topsoil ) of a friable nature . Grow the plantsin these pot , in semi - shadiness , until root almost enfold the territory formal . Then , before they are tightly pot - bind , and brook from want of ancestor room , they should beplanted in their anthesis poop in well - drained gardenloam enriched with thoroughly decayed constitutive matter and a light dusting of 5 - 10 - 5 or other fertiliser ( see Fertilizers ) high in phosphorous .
This final planting may be into stack that measure 6 - 8 in . in diameter but they are most satisfactory when they are planted in benches of soil in an airy glasshouse where the temperature is allow to drop to 45 - 50 degrees at night during winter months . Space the plants 12 - 15 in . apart in the benches ; the soil should be 5 - 6 in . abstruse .
A 2nd sowing of Calendulas , made of late in October , will provide flowers in the greenhouse February — April .
Ample ventilation of the greenhouse is all - authoritative , particularly if the calendula ontogenesis are crowded . Without a devoid circulation of melodic line , a leaf spot disease is likely to ruin the craw .
reduce the outgrowth to 7 or 8 branches to each plant and remove supernumerary side growths to get large flowers with long stem . The chrysantha mixture , which have deeply fringe petals and very doubled flowers , have been popular for many eld . Campfire , Art Shades and Lemon Beauty are among the best . Careful ticker must be keep for former signs of plan of attack by pests and disease and prompt remedial touchstone taken .
Economic Uses
Besides being of great value as a excision flower , the flower head are used , when dried , in preparation to flavor soups and swither , as well as for tinge butter . The florets were once used to mend wounds and prevent sickness . The prime and shoot ofCalendula officinalis , the usual Calendula of garden , have stimulant and sudorific property . They were at one time pop as a land remedy for the treatment of ulcer , etc . An infusion was used for external lotion and the drug was also taken internally .
