Calendula
Calendula officinalis 'Geisha Girl'
- Annual
- Edible
- Pollinator plant
- Butterfly friendly
- Deer & rabbit resistant
A cheerful, easy-to-grow annual with edible gold, orange, and red flowerheads that bloom from spring into summer.
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‘Geisha Girl’ is a warm-toned selection of Calendula officinalis, an easygoing annual that pumps out double, ball-shaped flowerheads in shades of gold, orange, and red from spring into summer. It is as useful as it is pretty — the petals are edible, and the plant practically grows itself.
In the garden and kitchen
The bright blooms draw bees and butterflies, and the slightly bitter, peppery petals can be scattered over salads or used to lend a golden tint to dishes. The flowers have also long been used to make a soft yellow dye.
Care tips
Start seeds about six to eight weeks before your last frost, or sow directly once the soil warms. Give it full sun, deadhead spent blooms to keep it flowering, and cut it back in the heat of summer. It reseeds readily, so expect volunteers next year.
Habitat & form
Where it's from and what to expect.
- Native range
- Southern Europe and the Mediterranean
- Plant type
- Annual
- Mature size
- 1–2 ft tall and 1–2 ft wide.
- Bloom
- Gold, yellow, orange, and red flowerheads (3–4 in. across) from spring into summer.
- Hardiness
- USDA zones 2–11.
Care
How to keep it happy.
- Sunlight
- Full sun. It tolerates partial shade but becomes leggy.
- Water
- Doesn't tolerate drought or hot summers well. Cut it back to rejuvenate in fall.
- Soil
- Average, moderately fertile, well-drained soil. Tolerates clay, loam, or sand at any pH.
- Pruning
- Maintenance: deadhead spent blooms to keep it flowering, and shear the whole plant back hard in summer heat to rejuvenate a leggy plant.