Gardening: Marvelous marigolds

Gardening: Marvelous marigolds

Summer 2024 California Bountiful magazine

African marigolds

Cheerful flowers are hardy and easy to care for

Story by Pat Rubin

I love marigolds, all of them—including the compact French marigolds with their button-like russet and orange flowers and the tall African ones with their big, sunshine-yellow blooms.

I buy dozens of them and plant them in every nook, corner and vacant spot in the vegetable garden. In fact, they go in before most of the vegetables.

They’re cheerful and colorful, they bloom for months as long as you regularly deadhead them and they attract plenty of bees and butterflies. Some grow a scant 6 inches tall, while others soar to 4 feet. In addition, they can take full sun (too much shade makes them leggy and less likely to bloom) and aren’t fussy about soil conditions. They’ll bloom until the weather turns frosty. If you let them go to seed, you’ll find marigolds coming up in unexpected places next season.

Sounds pretty perfect.

French marigolds

The most common marigolds are:

  • African marigolds (Tagetes erecta): Also called Mexican marigold, this is the big one. It grows up to 4 feet tall and has pom-pom type flowers in shades of yellow and orange and near-white.
  • French marigolds (Tagetes patula): These are short, only 6 to 12 inches tall. Flowers often come in two tones: shades of yellow and russet or orange. When turned into the soil at the end of the season, French marigolds are said to deter nematodes in the garden.
  • Signet marigolds (Tagetes tenuifolia): The signet marigold doesn’t look a lot like the typical marigold and is a little more difficult to find. Luckily for gardeners in rural areas, these marigolds are rabbit and deer resistant.

Marigolds are native to Mexico and Guatemala. In Mexico, they are called cempasúchitl, which is the original Nahuatl name and means “twenty-flower.” These beautiful flowers, specifically the African or Mexican marigold, play a major role in Día de los Muertos celebrations commemorating deceased loved ones.

Signet marigolds

To plant marigolds from seed, rough up the top inch or so of the soil, sprinkle the seeds onto it and lightly cover them. Keep the soil moist. Seedlings will die quickly if deprived of regular water. Once established, they are somewhat drought tolerant. But if you want plenty of flowers, you’ll need to keep them watered.

Garden centers carry a good selection of marigolds ready to plant.

The main thing to remember: Deadhead them regularly if you want continuous blooms.

Pat Rubin