In our Ingredient Spotlight series, we hope to shed some light on the ingredients we carefully choose and lovingly use. We’ll stop and focus on just one plant’s benefits and uses, its history or story, with tips on how to identify, grow and harvest, process and apply.
In my last youtube video, I asked if we could take a moment for the Calendula, still blossoming in its corners of the garden. It’s pretty much the only thing still blossoming. Even after a couple of frosts, we still wake up to its bright, golden colors each morning. Of all the plants I grow and tend to myself in the garden, none make me as happy as Calendula. Seriously. You can’t be depressed or stressed around them, they are like little rays of sunshine!
You know what else might make you happy about calendula? It’s one of the most versatile plants around. It’s decorative. It’s edible. It’s medicinal, both internally and externally. It’s easy to cultivate yet even grows wild. It’s a dye. A digestive aid. A friend. A happy place.
Calendula, calendula officinalis
You may know it by the name Marigold. In Swedish, we call it Ringblomma.
It belongs to the Asteraceae family, which is the Aster or Daisy family. And there are many varieties, even in the officinalis genus. If you go to a garden shop looking for Calendula seeds, you might be overwhelmed by the options. I know I was! Fortunately I met a knowledgable woman back then who had a rather intimate relationship with Calendula, and she led me to the highly medicinal, still wild form of Calendula I sought then and still cultivate to this day. If you’re curious about the exact seeds I began with some years ago, it was these.
Growing Calendula
Thankfully, Calendula is very easy to grow. It can be grown in pots or containers if all you have is a small balcony. And it grows very well when put directly into the earth.
In the spring, Calendula can be sown directly in the soil once all risk of frost is gone. Regular planting soil is fine.
It makes a great companion to many plants, flowers and vegetables. Calendula is thought to contribute to better growth of onions and garlic. I usually plant it with tomatoes and herbs that love sunshine. Because Calendula needs a sunny spot too. The more sun and warmth, the better. Just keep it watered. And pick out the weeds, please.
If you keep the soil loose, moist and relatively weed-free, then you will be rewarded with an abundance of flowers. And I do mean abundance.
Harvesting Calendula
So your Calendula plants are growing and little pockets of sunshine are bursting open. What next?
Harvest time. Before harvesting, consider how you will use them.
Because I dry the flowers out and store them to use throughout the year (in skincare oils, in teas, etc.), I usually harvest just the flowers. To do this, snip or pinch the plant at the very first set of new leaves. In other words… Put your fingers just below the flower head and follow the stem down until you get to the first set of leaves. Snip there, just above the new leaves. By snipping at the leaves, the calendula can continue to grow and the risk of disease is reduced.
If you want to fill vases with calendula, then of course you need more stem. Calendula plants can grow quite tall, so it’s a great one for vases, either on its own or in arrangements. Just make sure you snip the stem just above a set of new leaves. Sets of new leaves will be growing all down the stem, so you can choose. By snipping at the leaves, the calendula can continue to grow and the risk of disease is reduced.
Harvest all the flowers you want. In fact, the more you flowers you pick, the more they grow! Calendula is kinda like body hair, haha. The more you remove body hair, the faster and thicker it grows back, right? Same with Calendula blossoms.
To get the most medicinal properties, harvest the flowers as they are blossoming – when they are about halfway open. I try to do this as often as possible, but life is busy, so don’t stress about it. Harvest them when you can. More are sure to follow soon.
One thing to note: there is a sticky residue on healthy, highly medicinal Calendula plants. You will feel it while harvesting. Don’t get worried by it. That sticky resin is a very good thing and won’t be noticeable at all on dried flowers. It is concentrated on the green bases of flower heads, which is where there is an abundance of medicinal oils.
Processing and Storing Calendula
If you harvest Calendula flowers for skincare applications, tinctures, teas, etc. then you probably want to dry the flowers. This is certainly what I do.
Simply lay the flowers on a well-ventilated tray or rack in a cool place out of direct sunlight. Leave them until they are completely dry. They will feel dry too. A bit crunchy, easily crumbled.
Once completely dry, you can put them in a glass jar and store the ones you won’t use immediately. Just ensure that the entire flower head is completely dry before putting them up. Otherwise they could easily mold.
Saving Seeds and Overwintering Calendula
You can absolutely collect Calendula seeds in late autumn to be replanted the following spring. They will regerminate and reproduce very quickly for you, perhaps as a token of their appreciation. Your Calendula plant is also less prone to disease if regrown from saved seed.
If seeds are not collecting in time, then they can self-seed quite powerfully, i.e., next spring, you could have Calendula popping up everywhere the seeds happened to land.
I once had a neighbor complain about it – I suppose the wind blew the seeds over into her territory, and she had the nerve to call them “weeds”. Pff! If someone brought Calendula into my garden, I would bake them a loaf of bread in appreciation. What a gift they are. But I digress…
After collecting seeds in autumn, you will want to cut your Calendula down quite low if they are perennials. If they are annuals, you can let them decompose where they are and turn into soil-nourishing mulch. OR you can remove them from the ground completely and start fresh with the seeds you collected. Most Calendula officinalis varieties are annuals.
Clean their area well for the next replanting. You can do this either immediately in late autumn – collect seeds, take out old plants, clean out the bed, sow the seeds in good soil – for earlier flowering in the summer. Or you can do this in the spring, once the risk of frost has passed.
If you are sowing in autumn, you want to wait until frosts are regular and warm days have completely passed. Otherwise the seeds could sprout, and those little seedlings may not be able to survive the winter.
If you are sowing in spring, you want to wait until the frosts have completely passed and warm days are regular. I was taught to “test” the earth by throwing a lump of soil. If it crumbles, then the earth is ready. Your calendula (and other seeds) can be sown. If the lump of soil doesn’t crumble, then the earth is still too hard and cold.
What Makes Calendula So Special
Calendula’s medicinal and therapeutic properties are well-recognized around the globe, in nearly every branch of science, in both traditional and modern medicine, by skincare professionals and more.
Its properties are so incredibly prolific, as Calendula contains a very long list of chemical compounds, the main ones being terpenoids, flavonoids, coumarines, quinines, volatile oil, carotenoids and amino acids.
If you’re curious what the above means, or if you want the specifics, check out this medical article, Therapeutic Potential of Calendula officinalis.
According to the same article, “The various pharmacological properties have been attributed in preclinical research to various constituents, including anti-inflammatory, immune-stimulating, antibacterial, antiviral, antiprotozoal and antineoplastic properties.”
It’s a fascinating read if you’re interested in more of its potential.
For the sake of this article, I will be focused on the topical benefits of Calendula.
Calendula for the Skin
Calendula has antifungal, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial properties that make it useful in healing wounds, soothing skin irritations like eczema, relieving diaper rash or itchiness and treating a wide range of inflammatory conditions on the skin.
It also has antiseptic properties, making it useful for open wounds like oozing acne, cuts or other minor wounds. These antiseptic properties, along with antibacterial properties, make it useful in calming and perhaps even preventing acne breakouts.
Hydrating and soothing, Calendula is great for dry, inflamed, irritated, or very sensitive skin. It is used to heal skin that is cracking, chapped, or inflamed.
A Calendula infused oil is an effective emollient, meaning that it’s very hydrating for the skin. As I often say: hydrated skin is healthy skin. And healthy skin – not perfect skin – is the goal.
But Calendula does have a reputation for improving the overall appearance of skin too. It can reduce scars and marks, balance overall skin tone and color, and perhaps even has anti-aging qualities due to the impressive amount of antioxidant activity.
Traditionally, it has been used for treating wounds, ulcers, herpes, scars, skin damage, frost bite, wind burns, razor burns, cracked heels, and pretty much any skin inflammatory condition.
Though its potential is powerful, Calendula is super gentle. It is safe to use on babies from day one, safe for the elderly, and everyone in between. It’s also safe when used topically – not ingested internally – in all stages of pregnancy.
The only contraindication to be mindful of is for those who are allergic to plants in the Daisy family. If that is you, please proceed with caution. It isn’t certain that you will react to Calendula, but it is possible.
Wyld products with Calendula
We handcraft Calendula into all Wyld baby and mama products, from diaper cream and baby powder to calming bath tea and a wonder balm. The wonder balm is what we recommend for mamas who are experiencing pain, particularly inflamed or cracking nipples, during breastfeeding.
We also infuse Calendula into our Rose Gold Elixir. Recently a customer emailed and said it was helping to fade her frost-bite marks, which no other product had helped with at all. The combination of wild Rosehip infused oil and Calendula infused oil is a mighty one!
Otherwise, Calendula is infused into our Bare Naked Body Cream as well. And of course the super potent Sunburn Relief Spray. It’s also been a big part of the postpartum care kits we’ve been sending out to some of our favorite women.
Make your own Calendula Oil and Calendula Salve
If you have dried Calendula flowers, you can easily make your own Calendula infused oil by putting the dried flowers in a jar, covering them with your favorite oil (for skincare, I like extra virgin olive oil or jojoba oil). After a few weeks, strain out the flowers and voila, your very own Calendula oil!
Use our guide to Make Your Infused Oils here for a more in-depth explanation of the process.
Once you have your Calendula oil, you can use it as is, or you can make it into all kinds of other things, from hydrating body creams and moisturizing face oils to diaper creams and more. Or try this very simple Calendula Salve.
Calendula Salve
In a bain-marie, warm together 340 ml calendula infused oil + 35 grams beeswax + 35 grams shea butter. As soon as the ingredients are melted, mix together well and pour into little jars or containers of choice. Let cool completely. You can put the little jars in the refrigerator for faster cooling.
This makes quite a bit of salve, so adjust the amount of ingredients for smaller batch.
Use Calendula Salve to help with dry skin, chapped lips, cracking heels or fingertips, eczema and other skin irritations, fungal issues, face cream, on cuts and scraps for faster healing, and pretty much anything else that needs a little love! Again, Calendula is very gentle and safe for all.
Oh Calendula, you make me happy.
Every time I catch a glimpse of you from the window.
Every time I rub you into my skin.
Or drink a cup of your petals steeped in hot water.
Or simply put you in the middle of the table as we tear and share our daily bread.
Stay tuned for more in the Ingredient Spotlight series!
Thus far we’ve sung our praises to:
Elder – and separately Elderberry
