Tagetes patula
French marigold
Common names: Tagetes
At a glance
- Light
- Full sun
- Pot size
- from 3 l
- Lifespan
- Annual
- Hardiness
- Cold damage below 0 °C
- Water need
- Medium
- For children
- Well suited
Category imageDescription
Tagetes patula, commonly known as the French marigold, is a vigorous companion plant in vegetable gardens. Its roots exude substances that repel harmful soil nematodes, making it a popular choice to plant between tomatoes and potatoes. From June until frost, it produces dense clusters of bright yellow to reddish-brown flowers that attract hoverflies and bees.
Care instructions
Sow seeds in early April on a windowsill or directly in the garden from May, after the last frost. The plant is frost-sensitive. Provide a sunny location and water the soil in the morning, avoiding wetting the flowers. Regularly remove faded blooms to encourage continuous flowering. For nematode control, leave a dense stand and incorporate the plants into the soil in autumn.
The care notes were machine-translated from German.
Garden year
SowingApr–May
Germination
- Soil temperature
- from 12 °C, ideally 22 °C
- Days to sprout
- 5 to 10 days
- Light
- Sprouts in light or dark
- Sowing depth
- 0.5 cm
- How to start
- Start indoors, then plant out
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
well-drained, humus-rich, nutrient-rich, loamy
French marigolds like loose, free-draining, humus-rich garden soil. Waterlogging and heavy, compacted loam are their greatest enemies. Loosen heavy soil before planting with sand and mature compost; the plant tolerates a moderately nutrient-rich site well, while soil that is too rich comes at the expense of flowers.
Feeding
Medium feeder
Months
Apr–Jun
In spring before planting out (after the Ice Saints), work in mature compost shallowly; in normal garden soil this is usually enough for the whole season. On very lean or sandy soils, you can additionally mix in horn shavings shallowly. Less is more: too much nitrogen only promotes leaf mass and suppresses flowers.
Overwintering
Tagetes patula is annual and dies at the first frost. It cannot be overwintered outdoors. Before the frost, cut off the brown, dry seed heads, let them dry further indoors and store the seeds cool and dark; from mid-May, after the Ice Saints, sow them afresh in the bed.
Propagation
Methods
- From seed
Tagetes patula is annual and frost-tender and, in the home garden, is propagated practically only from seed. To start it under cover, scatter the seeds on moist seed compost from the end of February/March and press them in only lightly, because French marigolds are light-germinating seeds, so do not cover them with compost. Stand the sowing bright but out of direct sun. At around 18 to 20 °C and even moisture, they germinate in about 1 to 2 weeks. From mid-May, after the Ice Saints, plant the hardened-off young plants outdoors. Direct sowing in the bed is possible from the end of April, as soon as frost is no longer a threat. If you want to collect seed yourself, leave some flower heads on the plant to ripen fully and dry; the ripe seeds are dark and easy to release from the dried heads. Cut them off on a dry day and store the seeds cool and dry until the next season. Note: many varieties on sale are F1 hybrids; seed you harvest yourself then often grows into uneven plants that do not resemble the parent plant. With open-pollinated varieties, saving seed works reliably, by contrast. French marigolds also tend to self-seed: if you leave individual seed heads standing, you often find young plants in the bed the following year.
Companion planting
Companion planting is partly traditional gardening lore. Where the reason is known, it is given.
Some of these explanations were machine-translated.
For your garden
Grow French marigold yourself
Gartenkern tells you when frost is coming, when to sow and when to harvest, for your location.
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