Learn how to grow calendula and ornamental kale from seed. These are easy plants that anyone can grow and you’ll just need a few supplies.
For the past few years I’ve been growing calendula from seed in my unheated winter greenhouse, and it has been amazing! This year I grew ornamental kale from seed, along with calendula, and oh my goodness, I’m in love! The two flowers mixed together have created the most lovely scene for my cold, unheated winter greenhouse.
This is a scene that can be easily recreated in your own winter greenhouse – or if you live in an area that experiences mild winters, you could easily do this outdoors for winter!
Walking in my greenhouse on a cold winter day, especially when its so brown and drab outside, makes seeing this scene such a treat!
How do you grow Calendula from seed?
- Buy calendula seeds, a seed tray, soil starting mix, and a mister or water bottle.
- Moisten seed starting mix with water until it just starts to clump in your hand.
- Fill seed tray with seed starting mix.
- Plant one calendula seed in each cell of the seed starting tray to 1/4″ deep.
- Mist the soil and place a humidity dome on top.
- Mist seeds daily and do not let them dry out.
- Once seeds have germinated remove the humidity dome.
- Continue to water your seedlings and once they have true leaves pot them up into a larger container.
In this video I show you how to start calendula from seed.
When do you grow Calendula from seed?
Calendula is a cold hardy flower and is not fazed by low temperatures. In fact, to grow these beautiful flowers and experience their fullness of size, they need a cold environment with cool to cold nights to be able to grow into huge amazing flowers.
In Kansas, we warm up quickly in the spring, have hot summers, and even fall can be very warm. Calendula is not a fan of these conditions so I have never been able to successfully grow them in these seasons. Yes, the plants will grow and flower, but they are small and puny, and absolutely do not compare to the winter grown calendula at all!
I have found that late September is the perfect time to start calendula from seed. If seeds are started then, they will be blooming by New Years and you’ll be able to enjoy them all through winter into spring. If you keep them watered and under filtered light in the greenhouse, they will keep flowering well into late spring.
Last year I experimented with starting the seeds in August, in the hopes I would have them blooming sooner than New Years in my greenhouse. I did get a few blooms early, but because it was still so hot, the plants looked unhealthy and the flowers were very small. The cold nights and mornings make all the difference in growing these beautiful flowers!
Can Calendula be grown in a pot?
Yes! This is the only way I grow calendula, in a gallon size nursery pot or grow bag. Keep in mind though that the larger the container, the larger the calendula plant will grow, producing more flowers! Calendula can get 12-24″ tall. I usually keep it in a gallon size pot because this makes it easy for me to move it around in my greenhouse, adding pops of color where I would like it.
Do I need to fertilize Calendula?
I dont! I never fertilize any of my plants. My ‘fertilizing’ consist of adding a topping of homemade compost to the soil, or a sprinkling of worm castings. And I hardly ever even do that because I just dont have the time. Any my plants always look amazing!
Calendula is a Medicinal Plant
Did you know Calendula is a medicinal plant? Calendula has been being used medicinally since the middle ages! It is an amazing herb that has so many uses and health benefits including being an antiviral that helps fight cancer. I like to dry my calendula and then make little tins of salve with it for minor cuts and scrapes, or dry patches of skin.
How do you grow Ornamental Kale from seed?
- Buy ornamental kale seeds, a seed tray, soil starting mix, and a mister or water bottle.
- Moisten seed starting mix with water until is just starts to clump in your hand.
- Fill seed tray with seed starting mix.
- Plant one ornamental kale seed in each cell of the seed tray to 1/4″ deep.
- Mist the soil and place a humidity dome on top.
- Mist seeds daily and do not let them dry out.
- Once seeds have germinated remove the humidity dome.
- Continue to water your seedlings and once they have true leaves pot them up into a larger container.
If you type in calendula or ornamental kale in the search on my youtube channel several videos will come up.
When do you grow Ornamental Kale from seed?
This last winter (2023) was the first time I tried growing ornamental kale in my unheated winter greenhouse and it was the best decision ever! The kale mixed with the calendula flowers were just so so amazing! I started the kale from seed in October, but you can definitely start them in September when you start your calendula.
Can you grow Ornamental Kale in a pot?
Absolutely! Ornamental kale is so easy to grow! I always grow it in the 1 gallon size nursery pots and sometimes in my grow bags. Ornamental kale is even easier to grow than calendula, its more forgiving of not being watered if you happen to forget!
Do you need to fertilize Ornamental Kale?
No you do not need to fertilize ornamental kale and I never have! And it grows beautifully!
Ornamental Kale and Calendula Pest Problems
Last winter I really struggled with aphids on both calendula and ornamental kale, as well as cabbage worms on the kale. So keep an eye out for those! If you find aphids, rinse them off with the hose.
Hand pick the worms, but also keep an eye out for their eggs. If you see a white butterfly floating around your greenhouse she’s likely laying the cabbage worm eggs. Remove her if you can!
Both aphids and cabbage worm eggs, as well as young cabbage worms, like to hide on the underside of leaves. As the cabbage worm grows, you will start to find them on top of the leaves and they can be very camouflaged and hard to see!
Here’s a Melissa tip! When watering your plants, watch and you’ll see the larger and even sometimes the small cabbage worms fall off the plant – make sure remove those! Also, if you have a mild winter day, you could take your plants outdoors and give them a good spray down to help remove any aphids and cabbage worms.
And here’s my best tip of all! If aphids continue to be a big problem for you, you can buy ladybugs and they do an amazing job of cleaning them up!! Within 24 hours the ladybugs make a major change to the aphid population!
As Ornamental Kale Grows….
I like to keep it trimmed up! This not only helps with pest such as aphids – it makes it into a cute ‘flower’ atop a tall stem! This is easily done by snapping the leaves off at the stem, no pruners needed!
Im changing things up for 2025!
Its now very early winter 2024 and my ornamental kale got hit hard with cabbage worms! I was busy and not able to keep up with removing them. So next year when I grow them, I will put a light insect netting over the plants until the cabbage moth butterfly goes away! This will really help by preventing her from reaching my kale to lay her eggs!
Let me leave you with some more pics!
I hope Ive been able to help you learn how to grow calendula and ornamental kale from seed! Let me know if you have any questions! I promise anyone can do this, and you wont regret adding this beautiful vignette to your winter greenhouse!
Melissa 🙂
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Wow this is so way cool that you’ve been Blessed to figure this Awesome Flowers to be grown in the cold:) Thank You So Much for taking the time to share Your Blessings with all of us:) Lord Bless You with Your Blog:)
Thank you so much Darell!