How to Use Calendula: Growing, Benefits, Uses, & More

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As a foundational, must-have herb, you need to know how to use calendula. It offers many health benefits for your whole body and is even easy to grow!

If you’re even slightly familiar with herbal remedies, you’ve probably heard about calendula for skin health. After all, it’s in everything from diaper rash cream to body butters to skin salves and more.

While calendula is a superstar skin herb, that’s not all it has to offer you.

This sunny, cheerful plant offers multiple health benefits and supports numerous body systems. On top of that, it’s easy to grow. That means you can harvest all the calendula you need from your own garden.

If you’ve wondered how to use calendula for skin health and more, I have everything you need to know right here, including gardening and harvesting tips.

Disclosure: There are affiliate links in this post. If you make a purchase through these links, your cost is the same, but I can earn a commission. Thanks!

$3 Started It All

It all started with a $3 seed packet.

I had started to learn about calendula in my earliest herbal studies and I wanted to experience the plant for myself. After buying 4 ounces of dried herb from a trusted distributor to make salves with, I decided a $3 seed investment was a better use of my limited funds.

I was right.

That single seed packet has become an eternal plot of calendula that keeps giving to my apothecary every year (I’ll tell you about that in a moment).

And it hasn’t just lent itself to salves and skincare. Those sticky, resinous blossoms have found themselves in all sorts of foods and remedies (more on that soon, too).

After growing and using calendula for over a decade now, I consider calendula one of those must-have, foundational herbs that offer benefits for nearly everyone (yes, that’s included here, as well!).

Basic Information About Calendula

Calendula Species and Botanical Name

Before we dive into specifics on calendula nomenclature, let’s get some pronunciation out of the way.

“Calendula” kind of looks like “calendar,” and that leads some people to say this herb’s name as “KAL-en-DOO-la.” In fact, almost everyone I talk to in the Amish community near me pronounces the herb that way.

But the more accurate and accepted way to pronounce the herb’s name is “kal-EN-djoo-la.” If you say it the other way, don’t worry. English is weird and it’s no biggie.

Calendula’s botanical name is Calendula officinalis. We’ll get into specific varieties in the “Growing Your Own Calendula” section, but as long as you’ve got a Calendula officinalis, you have a potentially medicinal calendula.

Calendula is sometimes called pot marigold. That’s because the dried flowers were traditionally used to add flavor and color to broths, soups, and stews during the dreary winter months. However, it’s crucial to know that calendula is not the same as garden marigold.

Garden marigolds are in the Tagetes genus, so they’re a completely different plant from Calendula officinalis. These two flowering plants may both have sunny flowers, but their leaves, flavors, and uses are very different. This is another example of why it’s so important to always know your botanical names when working with medicinal herbs!

How to Identify Calendula

Once you get to know calendula, it becomes very easy to identify.

It’s a low-growing annual, though in warm areas (zones 9 and above) it might grow as a perennial. It usually stays around 18″ tall, though some varieties may reach 24″ in the right conditions.

Calendula has long, rounded, light green leaves and sturdy stems covered in fine hairs. Bright orange and yellow flowers grow on top of these stems, though more decorative cultivars offer blooms in other hues.

The flower heads are actually compound flowers. In the center of the flower head, you’ll find disk florets, miniature yet complete flowers. The outer ring of the flower head is composed of ray florets, which we typically think of as the outer petals. These individual flowers may be hard to see on your own, but if you look at them through a basic magnifying glass, the disk and ray florets become easier to see.

The entire plant is resinous, but especially the flower heads. When you pick the flowers for medicine, you’ll quickly notice that your fingers feel sticky. In fact, when I harvest calendula flowers, I often save them for the end of my garden harvest. I know if I don’t, I’ll end up with all sorts of soil and other plant residue clinging to my fingers before I’m done!

If you don’t pick the flowers, they’ll produce a green seed head that gives way to brown, curved, slightly spiked seeds.

Calendula Lookalikes

Calendula is rather easy to identify. If you’re very new to herb gardening or plant identification, you might think the yellow calendula varieties look like a strange dandelion. However, the leaves are completely different.

As mentioned previously, calendula might get confused with garden marigolds because of its common name “pot marigold.” But garden marigolds have very different leaves and flowers. The two plants actually don’t look alike at all.

Calendula can bear some resemblance to different daisies since they’re all in the Asteraceae family. But the leaves will quickly help you tell the difference, as will any sticky resin that a true calendula will have.

Which Calendula Parts Can You Use?

Calendula flower heads are most often used in herbal remedies.

You might find some online tutorials that tell you to remove the outer petals (actually ray florets, if you remember) for herbal remedies. However, if you do that, you’ll miss out on much of calendula’s medicine!

The underside base of the flower head, where it connects to the stem, is a green structure called the involucre. This flower part contains a lot of calendula’s resin, so it’s important to include it in your herbal remedies.

Calendula leaves also produce resin, though not as much as the flower heads. You can use them in poultices and other fresh topical applications.

In cooking, you’ll most often only use the petals, separated from the flower head.

Growing Your Own Calendula

Out of all the herbs you might stock in your home apothecary, calendula is one of the most cost-effective to grow. A small patch can easily supply you with enough calendula flowers for an entire year!

The calendula you grow at home will also be far more potent than any you can buy from an herb distributor.

When I teach live classes, I often bring sample herbs with me for people to see, smell, and sometimes even taste. So many times, people stop by my jar of calendula and ask how I got it to be so bright and vibrant. If you’ve only seen purchased calendula before, you’ll be amazed at the quality of the homegrown herb!

Choosing the Best Calendula for Your Medicinal Garden

When you shop for Calendula officinalis seeds, you might find multiple varieties or cultivars. Which calendula variety is best for herbal remedies?

I prefer sticking with standard, boring varieties anytime I add a new medicinal plant to my garden. When plants are bred for appearances, they tend to lose some of their medicinal qualities.

I grow the “resina” variety of Calendula officinalis in my garden. It produces yellow and orange blossoms, usually with a single layer of ray flowers (or outer petals). Occasionally I’ll see some blossoms with double petals, too.

The “resina” variety was specifically bred to produce a lot of resin for herbal remedies, so that’s why I originally chose that one. However, you might find other cultivars that are just as medicinal.

If you love the look of some of the more decorative calendulas, consider getting a seed packet of a basic or “resina” cultivar, too. Since the seeds are so inexpensive, you can plant a few of each cultivar and compare how sticky the flowers are when you pick them. That will help you gauge how medicinal the fancier Calendula officinalis is.

Where Calendula Blooms Best

Calendula does well in full or mostly full sun with typical garden soil. Think Goldilocks soil: not too damp, not too dry, and just right. My calendula patch gets around 6-8 hours of direct sunlight in the summer, which is enough to keep it happy and thriving.

You can start calendula indoors and transplant it out, but I prefer to direct sow in the garden bed. Simply sprinkle the seeds into fresh soil, rake them in, and keep them moist until they germinate. I usually do this in the fall after I let some large flower heads go to seed. More on that in a moment!

Once you have plenty of calendula seedlings popping up, you’ll want to thin them to around 8-12″ apart. This gives the plants better airflow so they’re less susceptible to disease.

But the Aphids and Powdery Mildew

Two things can really get after calendula in the garden: aphids and powdery mildew.

Let’s tackle the easiest one first.

True powdery mildew is a common garden fungus that makes plants look like someone dabbed them all over with flour. You’re most likely to see this on plants that grow too closely together and don’t get good airflow.

So if you see powdery mildew on your calendula, remove those plants to give healthier ones more breathing room.

Aphids, on the other hand, are a real pain to deal with. They can easily start to snack on one plant without you realizing it. Before you know it, your beloved calendula is covered in a thick regiment of aphids, literally sucking the life out of it

Here’s what I’ve noticed in my own garden.

Aphids attack plants that are struggling, often due to drought. When my calendula is healthy and well-watered, I don’t have trouble with aphids. But when we’ve had hot and dry summers, the aphids get after my calendula badly because I’m not always the dedicated gardener that I could be.

(I have a lot of people to keep alive.)

If aphids are badly attacking a plant, simply remove it. It likely won’t be able to bounce back, and getting it out of the patch gives the others a chance to survive. You can also try organic, insecticidal soaps if there aren’t too many aphids on a single plant.

Then pay attention to the health of your plants. They might need a better location or more water to fight off the little critters.

Keep the Harvest Going (Until Snow!)

My favorite thing about growing calendula is that it will often bloom up until the first snow, and maybe even after! Calendula is quite the hardy medicinal herb.

Once your calendula starts blooming, you’ll need to pick flowers every few days. I just pinch them at the top of the flower stem and collect them in a basket. If you let too many days go by between picking, you’ll tell the plant it’s time to focus on making seeds, not blossoms.

You can, however, let the best-looking flowers go to seed. Once the flower head has ripened with brown, dry seeds, you can collect them or sprinkle right back into your calendula patch. Tie a piece or yarn or string around the stem so you remember you want to keep those seeds for later!

By sowing seeds from the best flower heads, you’ll keep a patch of top-notch calendula going in your garden indefinitely.

Harvest & Storage Tips for Your Home-Grown Calendula

As I just mentioned, you’ll get the best results by harvesting flowers every few days. That keeps the plant blooming and providing you with more herbal medicine! You can also snip back the stems once you remove the flower heads if you want to keep your patch looking tidy. I don’t do this, but some people prefer to.

Calendula flowers take time to dry. If you live in a hot and arid climate, you can probably get away with drying them in a single layer in a room with good air circulation. Since I live in humid Ohio, my calendula blossoms usually go right into the dehydrator.

Your calendula flowers should be completely dry before storing them away. The petals will even feel brittle. Any residual moisture in the center of the flower can cause an entire batch to mold in storage.

This has actually happened to me. I was heartbroken to find a quart of carefully harvested and dried calendula blossoms ruined with mold once. I’ve been more careful ever since.

Finally, store your dried calendula away from heat and light. It will quickly lose color and potency if you store it in a warm location or out on a counter.

Calendula Health Benefits, Actions, & Energetics

Calendula is an absolute powerhouse herb for any kind of skin condition or need. It’s one of the best herbs for skin health! But that’s not all it offers you.

The Contradictory Tale of Taste and Energetics

Calendula flowers have a bitter taste when you include the whole flowerhead. That’s thanks to the resinous involucre. If you only taste the petals, you’ll find them slightly sweet.

When it comes to its energetics, some herbalists consider calendula a cooling herb since it brings down inflammation. Others point to older texts and healing traditions that consider it warming.

Similarly, some references label calendula as drying, while others moistening. When I run into this, I generally think of the herb as balancing and look more to specific actions and benefits to guide my thinking.

Calendula gently constricts tissue, so you’ll sometimes see it labeled as tightening versus relaxing. However, it’s not as astringent as other herbs.

Calendula in Action

• Calendula is a gentle, yet very effective, anti-inflammatory, benefiting both internal and external inflammatory conditions.
• It has potent vulnerary properties, which means that it helps wounds heal.
• In modern research, calendula shows antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal properties. 
• As a bitter herb, calendula can improve digestion and bile flow.
• Calendula, like cleavers and echinacea, helps improve lymphatic flow. This, in turn, improves immune function.
• Since it promotes wound healing, it can also improve inflammatory digestive conditions like ulcers, reflux, and intestinal inflammation.
• Calendula may even offer some anti-tumor activity and support conventional cancer treatments, according to research.
• As a food, calendula provides nutrition and color to soups, stews, and other recipes.
• Though some herbalists classify it as a drying herb, it can help nourish and moisturize the skin.

How to Use Calendula in Remedies and Food

Calendula is the star of many salves and skincare formulas for a great reason. But that’s just the start. There are many ways to use calendula for medicine and food.

External Uses: Your Skin’s Best Friend

• Calendula makes an excellent herbal-infused oil. For best results, use the whole flower heads to make your oil. Plucking the petals off wastes a lot of time and effort while giving you a less potent oil. Remember, the involucre at the underside of the flower head holds much of the medicine!
• After infusing calendula into oil, use the oil to create salves (like this plantain salve), homemade lip balm, and this Calendula Cream recipe.
• Create a strong hot water infusion with calendula and use it as a compress or localized bath to soothe rashes, injured skin, or other skin irritations. It also makes an excellent sitz bath ingredient for postpartum mothers.
• You can also create poultices with fresh or dried calendula leaves and flowers. Grind or mash up the herb, moisten it with enough water to form a paste, and apply the poultice over wounds to promote healing.

Internal Uses: Lymph Mover & Bitter Soother

• Create an herbal infusion by steeping 1 tablespoon of roughly chopped dry calendula flower heads in 8 ounces of freshly boiled water. You can drink 3 cups a day to improve digestive function.
• You can tincture calendula at a 1:5 ratio for freshly dried flower heads in 120-150 proof alcohol (60-75%). This higher alcohol content helps extract the valuable resins found in the plant.
• Some herbalists also tincture fresh calendula at a 1:2 ratio in 190-200 proof alcohol (95-100%). Fresh calendula tincture will contain fewer resinous compounds, but more water-soluble constituents.
• Calendula can be a great addition to digestive bitters formulas.
• Fresh calendula flowers make a unique addition to fire cider. You can also add dried flowers, but fresh flowers will extract best in the vinegar.

Food Uses: A Colorful, Culinary Delight

• Try adding calendula petals to baked items like bread, biscuits, or even in a dessert, like this dandelion flower cookie recipe.
• Calendula flower heads can make delicious additions to homemade bone and herb broths, soups, and stews. Strain out the whole flowerheads before serving as they’ll be too bitter to eat whole.
• Sprinkle calendula petals onto vegetable and fruit salads for a burst of color and a unique flavor. You can even add them to chicken or tuna salad!
• Try adding some calendula blossoms to a custom herbal chai variety for a unique flavor profile.

Is Calendula Safe for Everyone?

Calendula is a safe, gentle herb that you can use topically on all ages, even newborns!

However, if someone is highly allergic to plants in the aster family (Asteraceae), they might react to calendula. For best results, do a small patch test on the inside arm before using anything with calendula if you’re highly allergic.

Use caution with internal calendula preparations during pregnancy. In some herbal traditions, calendula is used as an emmenogogue, or herb that brings on menses. Culinary use is generally safe.

With so many health benefits, it’s no wonder that calendula is one of the most beloved herbs. It might be known best for supporting skin health, but there’s clearly so much more to this herb.

If you’re anything like me, you’ll probably want to always keep calendula on hand as a dried herb and in remedies.

You might decide a $3 seed packet is a pretty good investment, too!

Your Turn:

How have you benefited from calendula?

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