Calendula flower-marigold - what it looks like and where it grows

Calendula (marigold) is an annual herb of the Astrov family. Calendula flowers are a medicinal raw material, a natural dye, sometimes used as a spice as a substitute for saffron. Breeders have bred large-flowered and terry forms with lemon-yellow, white, orange and orange-red petals. Let's take a closer look at what calendula herb is, how to grow it, collect it correctly and use it 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 pot and indoor culture. The peculiar aroma emanating from the stems and flowers soothes and relaxes.

The structure of the calendula flower

The original habitat of the grass has not been identified. Natural thickets of various types are found in western Europe, on the Mediterranean coast and in southwestern Asia. There are perennial forms of calendula.

Common species are grasses with a height of 20 to 70 cm.If the soil on which the plant is located is rich in organic matter, then the bushes are very spreading and can reach 70-80 cm in diameter. Let's take a closer look at what the most common calendula looks like.

Calendula seeds

According to the botanical description, all representatives of the genus Calendula are herbaceous plants. Shoots are light green, ribbed. Leaves are oval, smooth edges, light green. All parts of the bush are covered with hairs that form 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 other color, which are composed of tubular (in the center) and ligulate flowers (petals) with pistils and stigmas. After pollination, they produce seeds. Ligulate flowers are sterile. The seeds of calendula flowers are different in shape, mostly curved, light gray or sandy in color. They can be plucked slightly greenish and dried under a canopy or indoors.

When the calendula blooms

Depending on the variety, flowering occurs 40-50 days after germination. Therefore, in order to understand when the calendula will bloom, you need to remember the date of its germination.

Usually the bushes bloom at the end of May, and bloom is in full swing in June. At this time, a massive collection of material is carried out. After removing some of the flowers, the shoots continue to grow and form new buds. Thus, the flowering of calendula lasts all summer until the onset of frost.

Useful properties of calendula

The use of the herb is determined by the chemical composition of the raw material. The flowers of the plant contain:

• carotenoids;
• essential oils;
• salicylic acid;
• flavonoids;
• saponins;
• alkaloids in small quantities.

Type of packaging for suppositories with calendula manufacturer "MosPharma"

The rich composition determines the beneficial properties of the calendula herb:

• bactericidal - effective against streptococci and staphylococci;
• wound healing;
• anti-inflammatory;
• calming.

In folk medicine, marigolds are used in the form of aqueous infusions inside to improve bile secretion and as a sedative. Outwardly, alcohol and vodka tinctures, water infusions - for rinsing the throat and sore gums.

Calendula pills

The pharmaceutical industry produces marigold-based ointments and tinctures. The flower is part of the "Rotokan" preparation 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 cracks in the anus and hemorrhoids, female diseases. The tablets are used to treat diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.

Types and varieties of perennial garden calendula

In nature, there are from 12 to 20 species - representatives of the genus Calendula. To create decorative samples, breeders use the technique of hybridization. The most common are two species - Medicinal and Field, which are pollinated with pollen of calendula Bicolor (bicolor), Moroccan and other varieties.

Perennial large-flowered terry calendula does not tolerate winters with temperatures below -10 ° C.

Calendula Field(Calendulaarvensis)

Distributed in the fields of southern Europe as a weed, propagates 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, 1.5-2 cm in diameter.

Calendula Medicinal(Calendula officinalis)

The most common type of marigold.

The flowers can be yellow, lemon-colored or even whitish. Median tubular flowers are darker than reed flowers or the same in color. The flowers are 2 to 6 cm in diameter.

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 types

One of the popular varieties is the Empress. She has double flowers up to 10 cm in diameter. The color of the petals is from dark yellow to light orange, the average plant height is 45 cm. The culture revives mixborders, it is used as the main species in garden beds, in containers and tubs.

The Geisha variety resembles a chrysanthemum. The orange petals have red tips. The center of the flower has purple and black spots.

Terry variety with variegated petals - Sonnenstein calendula.

The empress

Geisha

Sonnenstein

Calendula: planting and care in the open field

Planting and caring for flowers is not difficult, the plant is very unpretentious. Let's take a closer look at how to plant calendula correctly.

Growing calendula from seeds

When growing from seed, it is important to understand when to plant calendula. Seedlings can tolerate light frosts -1 ... -2 ° С. It is optimal to sow marigolds in open ground in spring, when the soil warms up to 12-14 ° C.

Landing is not difficult. On the bed, grooves are made with a depth of 4-6 cm. Seeds are sown in moist soil in rows according to a pattern of 12 cm between rows and 5-6 cm in a row.

Immediately after sowing, watering is not carried out; instead, the bed is covered with plastic wrap. Seedlings appear in 4-7 days. When the height of the plants reaches 10 cm, the bushes dive to a permanent place in flower beds, rabatki or mixborders.

In this case, the seeds are immersed in moistened soil at a distance of 15-20 cm from each other, after sowing the soil is mulched with a thin layer of peat.

Growing marigold seedlings

The seedling method of cultivating marigolds can be used if it is necessary to get early flowering, as well as in regions with short cool summers, as in Siberia.

The age of the seedlings before planting should be 25-30 days, therefore, sowing is carried out taking into account the time when the seeds will sprout, 35-40 days before the planned date of planting in the ground.

For sowing seedlings, boxes or plastic greenhouses are taken. 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 taken universal with a high proportion of humus. The optimum temperature for the growth of seedlings is 22-24 ° C. Young plants are regularly watered, the soil between the rows is loosened.

Before planting, top dressing is carried out with potassium humate. At the same time, the boxes are taken out for hardening in the open air, left in an openwork shade, gradually increasing the exposure time to around the clock.

What you need to grow calendula

The soil at the planting site is prepared in autumn, the sod and roots of weeds are removed. The flower bed is filled with a large amount of humus or rotted straw manure. The plant does not need mineral fertilizers.

Planting is carried out to the depth of the bulk of the roots. The rosette with leaves should not be buried, the plant will suffer. For the same reason, the layer of peat mulch after planting should be small, no 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. It is optimal if the area is well ventilated.

When the air masses saturated with moisture stagnate, there is a danger of plant diseases. Calendula perfectly coexists with salvias, petunias, marigolds. Avoid planting near mint and other aromatic herbs.

Planting a flower and caring for calendula involves regular feeding. Since the growing season of the culture is long, during the summer 2-3 additional fertilizing with organic or organo-mineral fertilizers is given under it. Rotten manure, humus, peat in a dose of 5-6 kg per 1 m² of the garden will do. 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, 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 fertilizer. Missing elements should be added.

It is necessary to loosen the soil in the flowerbed and weed it after each watering in order to accelerate metabolic processes in the soil and increase air access to the roots.

White or gray bloom on the leaves indicates a fungal disease, powdery mildew. As soon as it appeared, spraying with Topaz should be carried out, every 10 days, repeated spraying 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 can, if desired, improve his health. Planting and caring for a plant in the open field is not difficult, and flowering can be long and abundant.