Calendula officinalis, "Pot Marigold, 'Greenheart Orange'"

Some photos of my 'Greenheart Orange' Pot Marigold, which came into bloom a couple of days ago. I don't know if I get the first part of the name, but the bloom is still opening, so perhaps it'll make sense. But I had some seconds to photograph and write about it today.

I planted Calendula seeds after reading about it in A Cutting Garden for Florida. I bought the seeds from Thompson and Morgan. I've had pretty mixed results with them: They germinate readily, but have a tendency to grow very lanky and floppy. Recently, when pricking and transplanting into Jiffy pots, I've taken to transplanting them into deep divets, with only the leaves at the level of the soil, burying most of the stem. I was worried that they would rot, but this seems to have done the trick. Of the three dozen or so of these seeds I have sowed over the past 3 months, only about a half dozen of them survived. From seed to bloom it takes about ten weeks in cool weather.

From what I've read, these do poorly in hot weather, but I figure I'll have three months of blooms from them before the May heat or June rains kill them.