One of the simplest, most effective ways to support a healthy garden ecosystem is by adding plants that attract pollinators and deter pests.
Calendula (Calendula officinalis) quietly offers a suite of benefits that make it one of the most versatile and underappreciated companion plants in the garden.
What Is Calendula?
Calendula is a hardy annual flower in the daisy family, native to southern Europe but now grown widely across temperate climates. It’s sometimes called “pot marigold,” though it’s not related to the Tagetes marigolds found in bedding plant flats.
Its blooms are instantly recognizable: cheerful, golden-orange or yellow flowers with a classic radial symmetry. Calendula is edible, medicinal, pollinator-friendly, and easy to grow.
Once established, it keeps blooming for months with minimal input. This flower also doesn’t require precision.
Sow it in spring or fall, give it sun, and it will grow. It tolerates poor soils, light shade, and inconsistent watering—ideal for beginner gardeners or the rough edges of beds.
How Calendula Helps in the Garden
Calendula’s ecological role is threefold: attractor, repellent, and decoy.
Calendula is a nectar bar for lady beetles, hoverflies, lacewings, and parasitic wasps. Hoverfly larvae can clear an aphid infestation in days. Lacewings target thrips and mealybugs. By providing nectar-rich plants for the adults, you encourage them to lay eggs nearby, creating a living pest control cycle that runs without sprays or interventions.
There’s anecdotal evidence, that calendula helps reduce populations of aphids, whiteflies, and even root-knot nematodes. The theory is that its strong scent and resinous foliage may act as a mild deterrent or masking agent, interfering with the chemical signals pests use to find their preferred hosts.
Calendula can draw pests away from more valuable or sensitive crops. Aphids, in particular, seem to love calendula. That may sound like a drawback, but it’s actually strategic: aphids clustered on a calendula plant are easier to control—manually or biologically—than those dispersed across a bed of leafy greens.
Also, Dragana, another writer from our team, also put together a great article on flowers to plant near vegetables that is definitely worth a read if you’re looking to support your garden naturally.
The Best Plants to Grow with Calendula
Calendula is broadly compatible, but there are a few standout partnerships where it really shines:
1. Tomatoes
Calendula’s pest-deterring and pollinator-attracting qualities make it a natural ally for tomatoes. It can reduce aphid pressure and bring in hoverflies during flowering. Plus, its low profile makes it easy to plant between tomato rows without crowding.
2. Beans
Beans are particularly susceptible to nematodes in some soils. While the research is still emerging, calendula appears to exude compounds from its roots that reduce nematode activity. Even if only moderately effective, it’s a helpful layer of protection, especially in rotation with other legume crops.
3. Lettuce and leafy greens
Slugs and aphids love soft, young greens. Calendula can work as a mild deterrent here, or a trap crop that draws pests away. And because it doesn’t shade out low growers, it fits nicely into succession-planted salad beds.
4. Broccoli and Cabbage
Calendula’s aroma and insect-attracting flowers can help manage whiteflies and aphids—two of the most persistent problems for members of the cabbage family.
How to Grow Calendula Successfully
Calendula is unfussy. It germinates easily from seed, so much so that you might find it popping up in places you didn’t plant it the following season.
Sow directly in the ground as soon as the soil can be worked, or start it indoors before transplanting outside later. It prefers full sun but will tolerate some light shade, especially in hot climates.
Once established, it needs very little attention beyond deadheading to prolong flowering and keep the plant tidy.
Extra Benefits of Calendula
Tips for Using Calendula as a Companion Plant
Calendula is adaptable, which makes it easy to experiment with.
Let a few plants go to seed if you are growing a naturalized garden. If you want a more managed patch, deadhead consistently until late summer.
Final Thoughts
As a pollinator magnet, pest deterrent, trap crop, and medicinal herb, Calendula brings lots of value. More importantly, it does so quietly, without demanding space or much attention.
In a garden where every plant should have a role, calendula plays several. Whether you’re managing pests, supporting biodiversity, or just looking to make your vegetable beds more resilient, calendula deserves a place in the mix.
