Calendula: growing from seeds, when to plant? This question is asked by many summer residents. By the way, the more common name in the common people of this flower is “marigold”. You can meet them in many areas, but for the annual planting it is useful to know when exactly to collect the seeds.
Brief information about marigolds
Despite the fact that the birthplace of the plant is Asia and Southern Europe, in our area calendula has long ideally taken root. These flowers are grown even in those regions of the country where the climate is cool even in summer.
The flowers are small and somewhat like a camomile. They have a bright color, the middle in color is always vanishing from the petals. Calendula will look great in a separate flowerbed or complement an alpine hill. Growing this plant from seeds is easy, it’s important to know calendula: growing from seeds, when planting seedlings. It is good for gardeners to know fertile zodiac signs when sowing 2015.
We collect seeds ourselves
For the first cultivation, calendula seeds can be bought at a flower shop. By the way, a very large selection of seeds can be found in this store, because even calendula is different. Choose the most beautiful variety.
But, if you have already successfully grown marigolds on your site, then it makes no sense to spend money on seeds: you can collect them yourself. Seed is being collected at the very end of summer or early fall.
The period of August-September is selected for seed collection for the reason that the nails are already completely fading, leaving only the core. The seedling itself is no longer green, but brown. The bases will be removed easily, then you need to dry them. An ordinary cardboard box is suitable for drying, and already dried seeds can be stored in a paper envelope, put in a dry room until spring.
How to plant marigold flowers
Calendula: growing from seeds, when to plant (photo) seems to be understandable. This must be done in the spring. Moreover, marigolds are resistant to frost, so that they can withstand even freezing up to 5 degrees of cold in open ground. To plant calendula, you can choose one of the following methods:
- Landing in the open ground. Landing will be possible in October or in the spring, in April. It is best, of course, to plant marigolds in the spring. Clutch the earth into a fist, throw it to a height of a meter and check: if the lump falls to the ground and disintegrates, then the earth has thawed enough and you can plant the seeds. The soil will first need to be additionally dug up, a fraction of humus added (three kilograms per square meter of land). Then dig the earth, level it and you can sow the calendula in rows. It is enough to put the seeds no deeper than 2 cm, if you plant the seeds deeper, then you just worsen the germination of the nails in your area. It’s enough to leave a distance of 30 cm between the rows. The first green shoots will be noticeable in a week, and after 11 days you will definitely understand what the final germination of the actual planting is.
- Seeds are planted for seedlings. A more troublesome method than when planting calendula when growing from seeds directly into the ground. But when planting seedlings already prepared in the ground, the calendula will begin to bloom earlier. Especially good seedling method of planting is suitable for undersized varieties of marigolds. It is necessary to plant seeds for seedlings in March (for some varieties it is recommended to wait for April). You can plant in boxes or individual slides, the room temperature should be about 15 degrees Celsius, the seeds will germinate within a week. It is possible to plant home seedlings in open ground when about 5 full leaves are already formed.
Now you have complete information, calendula: growing from seeds, when to plant and in which way. It remains to choose the best place for calendula on the site and not to forget about proper care.
The best place to plant and proper care
Marigolds love light, but at the same time they treat the heat negatively. If the lighting on the site is chosen incorrectly, then the calendula will bloom in small buds and not at all for long. So, partial shade with fertile soil will be the best place on the site. Marigolds love moisture, so you need to not only water the soil regularly, but also loosen it. If the summer is dry, then the calendula will have to be watered up to three times during the day, otherwise it will simply die.
Also, do not forget for lush and long flowering to quickly remove those buds that have already faded. Inflorescences should not be thrown out, because they are used in folk medicine as an effective medicine.
Most often, calendula in open ground is affected by powdery mildew, spotting is white or black. To combat diseases, special drugs are used. But only after the nails have already faded.
Calendula: seed growingwhen to plant should know every gardener. Marigolds love moisture, partial shade, and nutritious soil. Remember that this plant is a medicinal species. You can simply grow it next to strawberries, onions or garlic to scare away insect pests and increase the yield of the described crops.