Some specimens are ornamental, others good for health and others beneficial for the garden for some reason or other … The carnation , however, is an ideal plant for many different purposes, among which its pesticidal 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 many properties.
Uses of carnation
The carnation of Indies is an annual plant of between 30 and 50 cm that gives beautiful hermaphrodite flowers of intense warm colors (orange, red and yellow) during the warmest months of the year (July and August usually).
Some of its main uses are derived from its flowers, stems, leaves and the entire plant :
- Ornamental: its beautiful flowers are ideal to give life, joy and color to the floor of your garden or your planters on the balcony.
- Aromatic: the delicious fragrance of the flower of this species is used to create essential oils and perfumes. In this way, having it at home will be a magnificent natural flavoring.
- 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 provide it with an inhibitory effect on nematodes, aléurdes and certain weeds and make it a good biofumigant for gardens.
- Fertilizer: 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 a good plant material to produce compost.
How to grow the carnation
This tropical plant from South America (Mexico, Nicaragua, Bolivia, etc.) as cultivated and in Europe and America can be planted both in clay soils and the sandy long as they have good drainage that allows the plant to hydrate without getting waterlogged.
Regarding the location, it is necessary to cultivate this specimen in sunny places: although it resists temperatures down to 0ºC, it will not be able to develop correctly in shaded spaces or in places where frosts occur.
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 .
