Marigold flowers are unpretentious, bright plants that can not only decorate a flower bed, but also replace a whole first-aid kit of medicines. Sunny, colorful marigolds bloom until the very frost and, if you give them a little time, they will delight you with their beauty already with the arrival of the first spring month.
It is not difficult to grow marigolds on your site, they can adapt to any conditions and soils. But if you know the preferences of the flower and show a little care for it, then the appearance of the plant will significantly improve, and the healing properties will increase. Photos of flowers are presented below.
Marigold flowers can bloom even with light frosts.
So, bright marigolds love places with the maximum amount of sunlight. It is undesirable to plant them in the shade of buildings or tall plants, as they will begin to reach for the sun, the stems will become long and the buds small.
Any garden soil is suitable for growing marigolds, but it is still advisable to feed too depleted soils with humus and loosen them.
Having chosen a site in advance for the spring planting of flowers, it is recommended to fertilize the soil in the fall using phosphorus-potassium fertilizers and humus
It is advisable to periodically change the place of growing the flower, this will save the plant from black spot, a disease in which the plant should be immediately destroyed along with the root system.
Due to the good resistance of the flower to frost, planting in open ground can be done already with the arrival of the first spring month and even before winter. And to speed up the flowering of marigolds, they are planted in a greenhouse in February. By the end of May, mature seedlings can already be transplanted into open ground.
A month after the first shoots, the marigolds begin to bloom. It is then that you can start collecting buds for medicinal purposes.
Later, seeds are sown before winter to a depth of no more than 3 cm. With the arrival of the first spring heat, they will begin to actively germinate. After a month, the area with calendula can be thinned out, keeping the distance between plants at 30 cm.
The brighter and more saturated the color of the bud, the higher the concentration of medicinal substances in it.
Throughout the summer period, it is recommended to cut off the blossoming buds in order to provoke rapid growth and flowering of new ones. And in August, you need to collect all the seed pods in order to prevent unwanted self-seeding.
Marigolds are considered to be an independent flower that reproduces by self-sowing and can grow with little or no human help. And if you create favorable conditions for it, then this will affect not only a significant improvement in its appearance, but also the quality of its medicinal properties.