Plant record
Calendula
Calendula officinalis
Calendula belongs at the edge of things, softening the vegetable bed without demanding much.
Garden timing
Direct sow in cool spring soil.
Succession rhythm: about every 28 days.
Plant intelligence
Place on cool-season edges where flowers can spill a little without shading seedlings.
cut flowerpollinatorbeneficial insectedge plant
Lifecycle: annual
Habit: cool-season annual flower
Height: 12-24 inches
Spread: 10-18 inches
Germination: 7-14 days
Sow depth: 0.25 inches
Bloom: spring, early summer, fall
Attracts: bees, hoverflies
Record score
86/100strong garden record
Taxonomy confidence94Calendula officinalis in Asteraceae; 2 cached source references.
Square-foot usefulness861 per square with none support.
Timing and care depth791 planting window, 45F minimum soil, 1 caution.
Species and variety drill-down882 variety or cultivar options attached.
Annual flower intelligence90high pollinator value.
Source readiness82Ready for 4 external lookup paths.
Species identity
This record is anchored to a stable botanical name, then adjusted for square-foot garden decisions.
ScientificCalendula officinalisFamilyAsteraceaeLookup namesCalendula, Calendula officinalis, pot marigold
Garden decision matrix
Square-foot fit1 per square
Season behaviorsemi-hardy
Care loadmoderate water
Bed ecosystem rolecut flower, pollinator
Variety depth2 options
Species and variety notes
Choose compact mixes for bed edges and longer-stemmed types for cutting.
Pacific Beautymix
84small-bed fit
A simple mix that gives a lot of bloom for little fuss.
Best use: cut and garden display. Tradeoff: match timing and spacing to the rest of the bed.
cut flower, warm colors, easy18-24 inches tallZeolightscultivar
84small-bed fit
A more romantic calendula if the garden needs a little glow.
Best use: cut and garden display. Tradeoff: match timing and spacing to the rest of the bed.
soft bronze, cut flower, unusual color18-24 inches tallCompanions
broccoli, tomato, lettuce, onion
Cautions
May slow down in summer heat.
External enrichment
Cached name: Calendula officinalis. Optional lookups can compare GBIF, iNaturalist, Perenual, and Trefle without changing the reviewed garden record.
Open enrichment JSONData layers
FVF reviewed cachecachedSpacing, timing, variety, companion, and FVF notes used by the planner.
GBIF and iNaturalistlive no-keyNo-key taxonomy, common-name, and community context checks through the enrichment route.
USDA PLANTS downloadsreferencePeriodic identity, distribution, native status, and conservation reference layer.
Perenual or Trefleoptional keyOptional species images, care data, cultivar/synonym cleanup, then cache only reviewed fields.
API source score
Perenual API88/100optional key: Flower and ornamental drill-down, plant photos, care flags, toxicity, bloom data. Limit: Requires an API key and plan-aware caching, so it should enrich records without blocking the app.
Trefle API84/100optional key: Scientific names, subspecies, varieties, hybrids, synonyms, and broader botanical cleanup. Limit: Requires a token and should be treated as a reviewed import layer, not a live page dependency.
USDA PLANTS downloads82/100download cache: Standard names, plant symbols, distribution, native status, and conservation flags. Limit: Best consumed as periodic downloaded data instead of one-off runtime requests.
GBIF Species API78/100live public: Accepted scientific names, synonyms, family/genus cleanup, and occurrence context. Limit: Not a gardening advice source; pair it with local square-foot growing data.
iNaturalist taxa API72/100live public: Common-name discovery, taxon IDs, and regional biodiversity context. Limit: Observation data is not the same thing as garden suitability or crop timing.
USDA PLANTS Database
Plant identity, taxonomy, nativity, and conservation flags.
Source referenceCornell Vegetable Growing Guides
Crop-specific vegetable growing guidance.
Source reference