Calendula Seeds
(Calendula officinalis) Annual. 50-55 days to maturity.
Calendula flowers are simple, cheerful and so versatile. Flowers are daisy-like in vibrant yellows and oranges!
Calendula historically serves as a dye plant; pale yellow. Calendula's petals are edible while adding colour and glamour to salads. Medicinally, Common Calendula petals are beneficial and potent as a salve for cleansing, healing and relieving inflamed, irritated tissues.
**Also available in our Edible Petals Collection**
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Growth Habit: Upright, two feet high, self seeding
Sun Requirements: Sun, part shade
Soil Preference: Fertile, well drained
When to Plant: Direct seed after last frost date OR start indoors 4-5 weeks before last frost date.
How to Plant:
Direct sow: Sow seeds ¼“ deep. Keep the soil bed moist until germination. Thin young plants 6-18” apart. Sow Calendula seeds in succession every 2-3 weeks until early Summer for continuous blooms.
Transplant: Sow seeds indoors in flats or containers. Calendula seeds need darkness to germinate, and will sprout in 14-20 days in room temperature soil. Once they germinate, move plants to bright light until ready to transplant.
When to Harvest: Harvest Calendula flowers as they open through Summer and Fall. Calendula will survive light frost and bloom well into Fall.
How to Harvest: For cut flowers, harvest with stems when flowers are half open. For edible or medicinal use, harvest flowers when they are fully open, and remove petals from the flower centre. Use Calendula fresh or dried.
Uses: Edible, dye, medicinal. Use flowers fresh or dried in tea or jellies, or as “sprinkles” on desserts and salads. Calendula is very talented as a dye flower and as well as an edible. Medicinally, Calendula is helpful for relieving inflamed, irritated tissue.
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