How to plant calendula and care for it

When to plant calendula

The seeds of this flower are not afraid of frost. Therefore, you can start sowing them as soon as the snow melts. However, calendula grows quite quickly, so you can plant it in June, and even in July - you will have time to enjoy flowering in the fall.

By the way, she begins to release buds about a month and a half after germination and continues to do so until the autumn frosts.

How to choose calendula seeds

There is a traditional, medicinal form of the plant with yellow or orange flowers. They can be harvested, dried, and used to make teas, tinctures, and other medicinal uses.

On the basis of medicinal calendula, ornamental varieties were bred. They also have healing properties, and their difference is in the variety of shapes and shades of flowers. They can be simple, semi-double and terry in various colors - from white to dark orange.

Also, varieties of calendula vary depending on the size of the bush. Undersized reach a height of 30 cm, medium-sized - 40-55 cm, and tall - 75-90 cm.

How to prepare a flower bed for growing calendula

Choose a sunny spot in your yard. Calendula is very unpretentious and undemanding to the quality of the soil. You can do without mineral fertilizers. It is enough to add 3-4 kg of compost for each square meter of flower beds, dig up the soil on a spade bayonet and level the surface with a rake.

How to plant calendula

The seeds of this flower do not require soaking.

Make furrows

Their depth should be 2-3 cm. You can make straight or winding rows - depending on the layout in your flower bed. Sprinkle the furrows with plenty of water and wait until it is absorbed.

plant a calendula

Pour the seeds into the grooves. You can not try to keep a distance between them: then it is easy to thin out the extra shoots. Cover the crops with soil, lightly compacting the surface with the palm of your hand. Moisten the soil in the flower bed with warm water, using a watering can with a diffuser attachment so as not to wash out the soil.

Wait for shoots

They will appear quite quickly - in 7-10 days. And if you sowed calendula in the summer, the heat will do its job, and sprouts may appear in 5 days.

How to care for calendula

This flower can grow on its own. But if you show a little care, he will definitely thank you with rapid flowering.

Thin out the calendula

After about 2-4 weeks from the emergence of seedlings, carefully pull out the extra sprouts, leaving a distance of 10-15 cm between the bushes.

Water the calendula

Do this as the surface of the soil dries up. Plants should be watered under the root early in the morning or in the evening, trying not to fall on the leaves, so as not to provoke a sunburn.

Feed your calendula

A flower can do without fertilizer, but top dressing will make it bloom more magnificently and longer. Once every two weeks, water the calendula with a solution of azofoska - dilute 1 tablespoon of the product in 10 liters of water. Pour the mixture under the root on wet soil, avoiding leaves and flowers. 200-300 ml of solution is enough for one plant.

Loosen and weed the flower bed

Loosen the soil around the plants with a hoe at least once a week. It is best to do this after watering. Remember to remove weeds regularly - they grow at a high rate and can take over the entire space so that you will not find marigold sprouts.