Marigold - tagetes tenuifolia

Tagetes tenuifolia

This annual from grandma's garden, better known as marigold, will find its place in any flower bed. It is also widely used for memorial plantings. The height of this variety is around 25 cm. It has very delicate foliage and small flower heads about 2 cm in size. The color of the flower heads ranges from bright yellow through orange to reddish-brown. It blooms throughout the summer until late autumn.

The flowers of some varieties have a pleasant citrus flavor and can be used sparingly as an aroma for salads, sandwiches, or as decoration. An interesting fact for all gardeners may be that the secretions from the roots of growing plants have an insecticidal effect on the soil. They are very effective against nematodes and to some extent against slugs, but they also work against some persistent weeds such as couch grass. Thanks to this, it is very widely used in so-called organic gardens and organic plant protection! Marigolds are suitable for cut and dried flowers.

How to Grow Marigold

• Requires well-drained, moderately fertile soil in a sunny location. The plants love sunshine, but during prolonged drought they require watering. They do not tolerate heavy and wet clay soils, as the roots subsequently function poorly and rot due to waterlogging.

• We sow them in a hotbed, greenhouse, or even on a windowsill, usually at the beginning of April. Germination begins at a temperature of 15 degrees. The simplest method is direct sowing in the flower bed in May after the frosts.

• We plant in a mixture of horticultural substrate and compost. Or in special horticultural substrate.

• For balanced growth and flower set, we fertilize once a week with complete fertilizer.

• It does not suffer from diseases and pests (with the exception of slugs, which like to feast on them in the garden).