Some specimens are ornamental, others good for health and others beneficial for the garden for some other reason… carnation of indiesHowever, it is an ideal plant for many different purposes, among which its pesticide capacity stands out.
Do you want to know more about this magnificent specimen? Take a look at what we tell you and don’t wait any longer to take advantage of its multiple properties.
Uses of the carnation of the Indies
The carnation of the Indies is an annual plant of between 30 and 50 cm that gives beautiful hermaphroditic flowers of intense warm colors (orange, red and yellow) during the warmest months of the year (July and August usually).
From its flowers, stems, leaves and the entire plant some of its main uses:
- Ornamental: Its beautiful flowers are ideal for giving life, joy and color to the floor of your garden or your window boxes on the balcony.
- aromatic: the delicious fragrance of the flower of this species is used for the creation of essential oils and perfumes. In this way, having it at home will be a magnificent natural aromatization.
- Medicinal: With the leaves of this plant we can make infusions against coughs, use it as an anti-inflammatory, disinfectant or healing agent, for example.
- Pesticide: Some properties of the plant give it an inhibitory effect on nematodes, aleurodes and certain weeds and make it a good biofumigant for gardens.
- Pass: It fulfills the triple action of covering the soil, acting against nematodes and improving the structure of the soil through its roots. It also provides good plant matter for composting.
How to grow the carnation of the Indies
This tropical plant of South American origin (Mexico, Nicaragua, Bolivia, etc.), already widely cultivated in Europe and the United States, can be planted both in clay soils as in the sandy as long as they have good drainage that allows the plant to hydrate without flooding.
Regarding the location, it is necessary to cultivate this specimen in sunny places: Despite the fact that it resists temperatures down to 0ºC, it will not be able to develop correctly in shaded spaces or in places where frost occurs.
Among the most common species are those of the Tagetes genus such as T.patuda (with varieties such as Harmony and Golden Harmony), T.erecta, T.tenufolia or minuta (it develops much more), for example .
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