Common Calendula Pests: Does Pot Marigold Attract Pests to the Garden?

06.08.2024 - 13:12 / gardenerspath.com / Sylvia Dekker

Common Calendula Pests: Does Pot Marigold Attract Pests to the Garden?

Calendula: the ultimate garden charmer.

Pretty, medicinal, tasty as tea, and easy to grow, you may have grabbed a packet of seeds during your spring fever with plans to liberally sprinkle these plants throughout your garden this year.

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But then you started doing some research and realized that the jury was out on whether these beauties were such a good addition after all.

Some say it attracts pests, including aphids. Shudder.

Others say it’s a good companion plant for certain vegetables.

So, which is it?

This depends on how you look at it, plan to use it, and which insects Mother Nature deals you this year, as you’ll find out below.

Let’s talk about it.

Here’s what we’ll cover in this guide:

Sporting beautiful bright blooms in sunny shades of orange, yellows, creams, and hues in between, these flowers are a popular addition to flower, herb, and vegetable gardens.

Also known commonly as pot marigolds, their botanical name is Calendula officinalis.

If the name sounds familiar but you’re not sure that it’s because you’ve seen seed packets in the gardening aisle, you may have skimmed over products containing extracts in the pharmacy aisle.

Calendula is a long-used, popular natural and traditional medicine used for a variety of things including wound healing. It has anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal, antibacterial, and anti-cancerous properties, among others.

Pot marigold extracts are also useful as insecticides. Dried flowers are sometimes used as an insect repellent, which makes sense, as the flower extracts have been found to