How to grow Calendula

At a glance

🌱 Grow your Calendula with GardenDex

• Reminders to water it, timed to your weather and whether it's in a pot
• Frost and disease alerts for your garden, the night before
• Follow it from seed to harvest, and see what your garden grew in $
• Point your camera at any plant or bug to identify it

🗓️ When to plant

Sow directly outdoors after the last frost in spring, or in early autumn in mild climates for winter blooms. In cool regions, start seeds indoors 6 weeks before the last frost.

🌰 How to plant

1. Sow seeds directly into garden soil or containers, pressing lightly but not covering (they need light to germinate).
2. Keep soil moist until seedlings emerge in 7–14 days.
3. Thin seedlings to the final spacing once they have true leaves.
4. Water gently and avoid transplanting if direct sowing; calendula doesn't love being moved.

💧 Care

• Deadhead spent flowers regularly to encourage continuous blooming throughout the season.
• Pinch back young plants when 15 cm (6 in) tall to promote bushier, fuller growth.
• Mulch lightly around plants to retain moisture and suppress weeds.
• Calendula self-seeds readily, so leave a few flowers to mature if you want volunteers next year.

🧺 Harvest

Pick flowers in the morning after dew dries for use in dried arrangements, teas, or herbal remedies. Harvest petals individually or remove whole flower heads just as they fully open.

🐛 Common problems

Powdery mildew: Improve air circulation by spacing plants adequately and avoid overhead watering; spray with a dilute baking soda solution if needed.

Aphids: Spray affected plants with a strong stream of water or use insecticidal soap to dislodge and control populations.

Slugs and snails: Remove debris where pests hide, hand-pick them, or use copper barriers or slug bait around vulnerable young plants.

🤝 Companion plants

💚 Good neighbours: Tomatoes, Lettuce, Cabbage, Chamomile

⚠️ Keep apart from: Tall plants that shade it, Legumes (beans/peas)

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