Overview

Discover the joy of growing your own vibrant blooms with these premium orange king calendula seeds. This offering includes 30 high-quality seeds of the beloved ‘Orange King’ calendula (Calendula officinalis), a classic heirloom variety renowned for its striking, sunny orange flowers. These seeds are non-GMO and organic, ensuring you start your garden with the purest genetic material, free from synthetic pesticides or fertilizers. Calendula, often called the ‘pot marigold,’ is not only a beautiful addition to any garden but also a historically significant plant cherished for its traditional medicinal and culinary uses. Growing these heirloom calendula seeds allows you to connect with centuries of gardening tradition, bringing a touch of natural beauty and utility to your outdoor space.

Ideal for both novice and experienced gardeners, these organic calendula seeds promise a rewarding growing experience. The Orange King variety stands out with its rich, deep orange petals, which are often used in herbal preparations due to their beneficial properties. Whether you’re planning a dedicated herb garden, a colorful border, or simply want to attract beneficial pollinators, these seeds provide an excellent foundation. Each packet contains 30 seeds, offering a generous start to cultivate a flourishing patch of these cheerful and versatile flowers.

Key Benefits

Planting orange king calendula seeds offers a multitude of advantages for your garden and well-being. These vibrant flowers are more than just pretty faces; they bring a host of practical and aesthetic benefits:

• Vibrant Garden Aesthetic: The brilliant orange hues of the Orange King calendula provide a cheerful and warm touch to any garden bed, container, or cutting garden. Their continuous blooming habit ensures a long season of color, making them a focal point.
• Traditional Medicinal Uses: Medicinal calendula has been historically valued for its soothing and healing properties. The resinous flowers are often used in salves, teas, and tinctures for skin care and internal remedies, making them a practical addition to an herbal garden.
• Attracts Pollinators: Calendula flowers are a magnet for beneficial insects like bees and butterflies, supporting local ecosystems and aiding in the pollination of other plants in your garden. This makes your garden more vibrant and productive.
• Easy to Grow: These calendula officinalis seeds are known for their resilience and ease of cultivation, making them an excellent choice for beginners. They adapt well to various conditions and require minimal fuss once established.
• Continuous Blooms: With proper care and deadheading, Orange King calendula will produce a steady supply of flowers from late spring through fall, providing an extended period of beauty and harvestable material.
• Companion Planting Benefits: Calendula is a good companion plant, known to deter certain pests and attract beneficial insects that prey on unwanted garden visitors, contributing to a healthier garden environment.

Plant Care & Growing Tips

Growing orange king calendula seeds into thriving plants is a straightforward and rewarding process. Calendula is known for its hardiness and adaptability, making it a great choice for gardeners of all skill levels. To ensure the best results, start by sowing the seeds directly into well-draining soil after the last frost in spring. Alternatively, for an earlier bloom, you can start them indoors 4-6 weeks before the last frost. Plant seeds about 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep and 6-12 inches apart, as calendula generally prefers to have some space to spread.

Heirloom calendula seeds thrive in full sun, meaning they need at least 6 hours of direct sunlight per day. While they can tolerate partial shade, too much shade may result in fewer blooms and leggy growth. The ideal soil for calendula is well-draining, moderately fertile loam. They are not particularly fussy about soil pH but prefer a slightly acidic to neutral range. Water regularly, especially during dry spells, to keep the soil consistently moist but not waterlogged. Once established, calendula is relatively drought-tolerant, but consistent moisture will promote more vigorous growth and abundant flowering. Fertilization is generally not heavily required; a balanced, organic fertilizer can be applied sparingly if your soil is poor.

To encourage continuous blooming and prevent the plant from going to seed too early, practice regular deadheading by removing spent flowers. This will promote the plant to produce more blooms throughout the season. Calendula is quite tolerant of cool temperatures and can even survive light frosts, often continuing to bloom into late fall. Keep an eye out for common pests like aphids, which can usually be managed with a strong spray of water or organic insecticidal soap. Overall, caring for your orange king calendula seeds will yield a bounty of beautiful and useful flowers that enhance your garden’s appeal and biodiversity.

Size & Details

This product includes 30 high-quality orange king calendula seeds, carefully selected for optimal germination and growth. Each seed is ready to be sown to produce robust plants that typically grow to a height of 18-24 inches (45-60 cm) with a similar spread. The plants develop into bushy, upright forms, adorned with their characteristic bright orange, resinous flowers. These organic calendula seeds are packaged to ensure freshness and viability upon arrival, providing you with the best start for your gardening project.

Expect germination to occur within 7-14 days under optimal conditions. The plants will begin to flower approximately 60-70 days after sowing, offering a continuous display of blooms throughout the growing season, from late spring until the first hard frost. The flowers themselves are generally 2-3 inches in diameter, making a significant visual impact. These seeds are perfect for gardeners looking to cultivate beautiful, resilient, and versatile plants for ornamental purposes, companion planting, or for harvesting the flowers for their traditional uses as medicinal calendula.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Q: How many orange king calendula seeds are included? A: Each packet contains 30 high-quality orange king calendula seeds, providing a good number to start a vibrant patch in your garden or several containers.
• Q: Is this an indoor or outdoor plant? A: Calendula is primarily an outdoor plant, thriving in garden beds, borders, and outdoor containers. While it can be started indoors, it performs best when grown outdoors in full sun.
• Q: How much sunlight do these calendula officinalis seeds need? A: These seeds will grow into plants that require full sun, meaning at least 6 hours of direct sunlight per day, for optimal blooming. They can tolerate partial shade, but flowering may be reduced.
• Q: Is this plant easy to care for? A: Yes, calendula is known for being very easy to grow and maintain, making it an excellent choice for beginner gardeners. It’s quite resilient and adaptable to various conditions.
• Q: What condition will the seeds arrive in? A: The seeds will arrive in a protective packet, ensuring their freshness and viability for planting. They are dry seeds, ready for sowing.
• Q: When is the best time to plant these heirloom calendula seeds? A: The best time to plant is in spring after the last danger of frost has passed, directly into the garden. For an earlier bloom, you can start them indoors 4-6 weeks before the last frost.
• Q: Will these organic calendula seeds attract pollinators? A: Absolutely! Calendula flowers are very attractive to beneficial pollinators like bees and butterflies, helping to support a healthy garden ecosystem.
• Q: How long until the plants bloom? A: Typically, you can expect the plants grown from these heirloom calendula seeds to begin blooming approximately 60-70 days after sowing, providing continuous flowers throughout the season.
• Q: What are the primary uses for medicinal calendula? A: The flowers of calendula are traditionally used in herbal medicine for their soothing properties, often incorporated into salves, balms, teas, and tinctures for skin health and other remedies.
• Q: What kind of soil do these seeds prefer? A: Calendula prefers well-draining, moderately fertile soil. It is not overly particular about soil pH, but a slightly acidic to neutral range is ideal for these organic calendula seeds.