Plant Profile - Calendula
The Calendula Flower
Calendula calendula officinalis aka Pot Marigold aka Garden Marigold is one of those all around rockstar companion plants in the garden. Pollinators absolutely love it so it’s great for increasing your vegetable pollination. The flowers are so cheerful and sunny so they always make you smile, they self-seed quite readily so if you’re a lazy gardener like me you just need to plant them once then never worry about it again. On top of all these great features, they are edible and incredibly medicinal!
How to Grow
It is a cold hardy annual but can also be grown as a biennial (sown in the Fall to flower the following Spring) or short lived perennial in warm enough zones. They self seed quite readily so be mindful of where you plant it.
Calendula likes full sun and does best in well draining soil with lots of compost mixed in. Ultimately though, they can handle growing in less than ideal soil conditions; they just might not be as prolific. They are also fairly drought tolerant which is another plus. I find that once they get established they root deeply and require minimal, if any, additional irrigation. Water conservation and less work for the win!
Harvesting
All calendula is medicinal, but the variety ‘Resina’ produces the most resin and is therefore the most medicinal. The sticky resin on the plants is what is really the medicinal part, so keep the green backings on the flowers for your medicinal usage rather than just using the petals. Keep harvesting the blooms so the plants keep producing them. Once they are left to go to seed, flower production will stop and they will focus just on seed production. The seeds are incredibly easy to save though so you can buy seeds the first time, then never buy them again if you harvest your own.
To harvest, the blooms close up in the evening so they will still be closed in the morning. Since you need the flowers fully open to know they are ready to harvest, harvest in the afternoon. Blooms are ready when they open ¾ of the way. You can use snips to cut the base of the flower where it meets the stem, grab the flower and pull it up at an angle to sever the head from the stem, or use one hand to hold the stem and the other to pull the bloom.
Use fresh, or arrange the blooms face down on a mesh screen to allow them to dry. If you’re using a dehydrator, set it to the lowest temperature in order to maintain the integrity of the medicinal benefits. In my dehydrator, the lowest temperature is 100F and the blooms are completely dry within 48 hours.
When you gently squish a dried flower between your fingers it should shatter. Store them in airtight containers while waiting to use them so they do not absorb any humidity.
Topical Application
For topical applications, calendula has wonderful anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and overall skin healing abilities. This means it’s a great addition to skin salves, body butters, and diaper creams.
One of my preferred methods for utilizing calendula’s incredible topical benefits is to infuse the dried flowers in a carrier oil (I prefer organic jojoba) for a minimum of three months, preferably longer. You could also utilize an edible oil like olive oil or sunflower oil to use the infusion topically as well as in cooking and salad dressing.
After infusing, I’ll then strain the oil through a compostable coffee filter and use the oil to make an amazingly nourishing skin salve that is amazing for rashes, dry eczema, and minor cuts and burns. My husband calls the salve “skin crack” since it clears up mild maladies seemingly overnight. Calendula magic is the true hero here!
My second favorite external calendula application is infusing the blooms with other soothing herbs to make a truly decadent face and massage oil. I like infusing rosehips, lavender, and chamomile with the calendula so it smells magical and has so many wonderful beneficial properties for your skin. And since I use jojoba oil which has a very low comedogenic score, I don’t have to worry about breaking out and instead just focus on nourishing my skin.
A note about infusing oils
If you use fresh or wilted flowers to infuse in your oil of choice, just know that the oil will not be shelf stable and will go rancid rather quickly due to the water present in the infusion. If you want a shelf stable oil, make sure the blooms are absolutely bone dry.
Internal Use
For internal use, calendula boosts the lymphatic system leading to increased immune action so be mindful of this if you have any autoimmune conditions. Otherwise, adding fresh or dried calendula flowers to your soup stocks and teas is a great way to help ward off any illnesses. This will also keep your digestive system happy since it soothes any GI irritation through its healing and anti-inflammatory properties.
One of my absolute favorite internal uses for calendula is in this incredible PMS tea recipe. I got the original recipe from Susan Clotfelter’s book The Herb Tea Book: Blending, Brewing, and Savoring Teas for Every Mood and Occasion. I’ve tweaked it a bit to accommodate the herbs I readily have in my cupboard. I am always amazed by how quickly my menstrual cramps improve or even disappear completely after drinking a pot. I like having a pint jar of this blend always handy in my tea cabinet for sharing with friends in need as well as quick access for when my cramps aggressively catch me off guard.
