Marsh Marigolds Something a Little Different

 Growing Marsh Marigolds (Caltha palustris) From Seed

 

Native Black-eyed Susan's - Granby, CT

  Everyone is familiar with Marigolds (Calendula officinalis) the annual, that Kindergartners start in paper Dixie Cups for Mother's Day. Although, not native to the state of Ohio, USA, it is still by far one of my all time favorite plants. It is not very particular; blooming most of the growing season, adapting well to a wide range of soil, water and sun light conditions.

  On the other hand, the perennial, Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustris), a native Ohio species which belongs in the Buttercup (Ranunculaceae) Family, has very little is common with traditional Marigold, found in the Aster (Asteraceae) Family. Although, both have unique and personal interpretation of the color gold, you can hardly call them cousins. Each year, I choose a native wildflower that I know very little about to raise from seed, Marsh Marigolds was one of my choices for 2014. Since the germination rate from one seed package was higher than I expected, I decided to get busy and start learning to care for them.