Calendula vs Marigold: What is the Difference: In the yard store, it can be hard to tell the difference between calendula flowers (Calendula officinalis) and pot marigolds. Their names are only one word apart, but those three letters hide a lot of differences.
One thing is that these yearly flowers look very different from one another. The flowers and leaves of marigolds (Tagetes spp.) are shorter and more compact. The petals on calendula flowers are larger, and the leaves are bigger and wider.
Calendula vs Marigold: What is the Difference
Calendulas and daisies are both in the same family, but calendulas look more like daisies. Also, the flowers smell different. The smell of marigolds is strong, sharp, and almost unpleasant. So, they are often used to keep rabbits, deer, and other animals out of the garden that people don’t want.
Calendula flowers, on the other hand, smell more like other flowers. If you want to keep bugs away, grow nasturtium flowers. Marigolds are a popular choice for warm-season annuals because they bloom from late spring until the first frost in the fall.
Calendulas, on the other hand, like it cooler; if it gets too hot, they’ll wilt. In reality, the two most important things that marigolds and calendulas have in common are their bloom colors and familiar names that sound alike. It might be hard to tell them apart at first glance because they are both bright orange, yellow, and red.
When you add in the usual name confusion (“marigold” vs. “pot marigold”), it’s not hard to see why people get them mixed up. Now that you know the difference between calendula and marigold, read about the difference between hydrangea and Chinese snowball bush.
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Marigold Care
Make sure you have enough full sun where you want to put marigolds. They do fine in the sun and heat of the summer, but powdery mildew can kill them if they’re put in the shade.
Also, it’s better to water marigolds from the bottom up instead of the top down, since too much water on the leaves can also cause powdery mildew.
These annual flowers grow quickly and are easy to start from seeds. They do best in pots with potted soil that drains well.
Here’s what to do when your plant is having trouble. If you want the flowers to keep blooming, remove the old flowers when they’re done.
This will keep the plant’s energy on growing more sunny flowers. Did you know that marigolds are the flower for people born in October?
Calendula Care
Calendula plants, like violas and pansies, like it cooler in the spring and early fall, while marigolds like it hot.
Even though they don’t do well in hot summer weather, they do grow and flower best in full sun. Don’t water these plants too much, because the roots may rot in wet dirt.
One more important difference is that marigold leaves can be eaten. People who garden sometimes use the leaves of pot marigolds to color meals or even to make natural paints.