TAll MARIGOLDS

For Kindergartners, Grandmothers and Anyone Who Loves Easy Flowers

I had no intentions of growing marigolds.  Not because they're so easy kindergartners can grow them or so old fashioned my grandmother grew them.  Those are odd reasons not to grow a beautiful, productive flowering plant.  I simply didn't have marigolds need to thrive: full sun.

The spot I first grew them was once a semi private shade garden in a narrow side yard.  I'd originally planted a little shade garden with hostas, lilies and English ivy.  Facing south and planted in brick planters, it was pleasantly cool thanks to the micro climate my neighbor's evergreen photinia hedge created.  It was good while it lasted.  Though it lasted less than a month.

In an afternoon, the handsome 15 foot photinia hedge was shorn to a scrawny row of four feet tall shrubs.  The shade garden transformed into a blazing hot full sun garden.  My neighbor and I gazed into each other's yard and heard conversations without trying.  What a great start to the gardening season!

The upside?  I can grow marigolds... and zinnias.  But I'll focus on marigolds for now. 

THE PROMISE OF ORANGE

I Love Yellow Except When I Want Orange

After consulting a flower gardening book or two, I bought a 50 cent packet of mixed colors tall marigold seeds.  I shunned mixed color seed packets.  The packet photo seduces with a covetable color that fails to show up after many sowings.  Yellow foxgloves.  Black pansies.  Orange marigolds.  I grew marigolds for ten years from seeds I bought and seeds I collected.  Crackerjack marigolds bloomed in every shade of yellow but never orange.

It's fair to ask why I didn't just buy a packet of orange marigold seeds.  At first, I needed as many marigolds as possible to quickly fill bare planter.  I added more plants over the seasons and didn't have the space for as many marigolds.  So orange marigolds were no longer must have flowers.  Just an element of gardening surprise and delight I love.  Like, will this be the year I get an orange blooming marigold?

TOMATOES LOVE MARIGOLDS

Plant Marigolds With Tomatoes; Pollinators Will Come

Okay.  I don't actually know how tomatoes feel about marigolds.  I certainly don't know how marigolds benefit from the pairing.  To my eyes, marigolds give more than they get. 

Marigolds' large and bright flowers are a neon sign for pollinators.  Some come for nectar; some come for pollen.  Carpenter bees come for the nectar and the pollen.  The nectar's an energy source for tomato pollinating bees and predators (parasitic wasps and aphid lions) of tomato plants' pests.

Marigolds give and give some more in a seemingly not so symbiotic relationship.  Parasitic root knot nematodes live in soil and deprive tomato plants of nutrients.  Not good for your tomato crop.  Marigolds secrete a nematode suppressing chemical.  Wow.

A nematode infestation happens after yearly planting the same crop in the same area.  The pest population increases with each planting.  By growing tomatoes in large containers with plenty of organic matter, I avoided nematode problems.  Still, I planted marigolds with tomatoes.  

GROWING TALL MARIGOLDS

Tall marigolds need staking even when pinched back before flowering (absolutely pinch marigold seedlings when they're 6 to 8 inches tall).  They don't need much staking in a large container.  When planted in soil, they'll need some support against strong winds or heavy rain.

Speaking of rain, marigold flowers rot when too wet.  Don't wet the petals when watering — unless you like the look of dirty mops.  Be prepared to deadhead the faded flowers and seed heads to keep flowers blooming until late autumn.

One marigold flower produces copious seeds.  I bought one packet of marigold seeds and never bought another.  From then on, all the marigolds I grew were from seed I collected.  Narrow, flat black seeds are attached to faded petals rather than developing in seed pods.  Remove the petals and make sure the seeds are completely dry before storing.  I stored and sowed the seeds separately according to color though I'm not sure it was worth the effort.  Though the flowers bloomed in various shades of yellow, vivid yellow was the norm.

If the temperature is warm, seeds may germinate in less than a week.  Marigolds are frost tender annuals.  Wait until the risk of frost is over to sow seeds and plant seedlings.  I've never concerned myself with soil conditions or feeding marigolds since I planted them in containers with tomatoes.  But I have planted them in clay soil without any problems.

What's most essential for healthy marigolds are full sun and well drained soil.

Top left:  Petite sachem butterfly pauses in contemplation before sipping marigold nectar.  Bottom left:  One marigold plant blooms prolifically alongside potted tomato plants.  Top right:  Fennel seed heads and a pale yellow marigold is a contrasting but pretty pairing. An idea for a future floral arrangement.

Bottom left:  My garden was home to several generations of carpenter bees.  Marigolds were one of their favorite flowers to collect pollen... and sip on fermented nectar.  Bottom right:  On summer and late autumn evenings, I observed intoxicated carpenter bees sprawled on marigold flowers alone or in pairs.  Some drunken bees awkwardly rubbed their pollen covered legs together.  The next morning the flowers were slow to rise from their stupor.  An amusing spectacle.

AN UNDERRATED CUT FLOWER

Admire Tall Marigold's Beauty in a Vase 

I didn't grow marigolds for cut flowers; I cut marigolds to extend the plant's bloom time.  Cutting faded flowers kept the plant tidy, upright and attracting pollinators.  So I had a small vase of marigolds to admire throughout summer and autumn.  I don't know the vase life of marigolds if intentionally picked for floral arrangements.  My scavenged marigolds lasted long enough for portraits and cheering up my desk.  Maybe three or four days?  Good enough for impromptu posies.

Out of the blazing sunlight, marigolds' charms are more apparent.  The frilly petals are defined yet whimsical.  In natural light, against a dark background, the yellows soften.  The flowers smell faintly like honey in a warm room.  Yeah, I'm a fan.

Why Grow Tall Marigolds?

• quick seed germination

• easy to collect the seeds

• give them full sun; they won't fuss about anything else

• blooms from early summer to late autumn in Zone 7a

• attracts pollinating and beneficial insects

• you, like I, love yellow flowers

• good cut flowers though shunned by most florists