Annuals & Biennials

Tagets
marigold

- Height 1/2-3 ft (15-90 cm)
- Planting distance 1-11/2 ft (30-45 cm)
- Flowers midsummer to fall
- Ordinary garden soil
- Open, sunny site
- Half-hardy annual

Easily cultivated, French and African marigolds have single semi-double, or double flowers in every shade of orange, yellow, and mahogany-red. They are good for cutting. When crushed, the deeply cut green leaves give off a pungent smell.

Popular species and cultivars
Tagetes erecta (African marigold) has given rise to many cultivars, most of which are F1 hybrids of uniform vigor and flower size. Popular tall types (2-3 ft/60-90 cm) with double flowers up to 6 in (15 cm) wide, are 'Crackerjack Hybrids' (orange, gold, and lemon), 'Doubloon' (primrose-yellow), and the 'Jubilee' series (mixed yellow, orange, and gold0. Dwarf double-flowered cultivars (10-18 in/25-45 cm) include the 'Inca' series (mixed or in gold, bright yellow, and deep orange).
Mule cultivars, so called because they are sterile and cannot seed, are hybrids between African and French marigolds. They bloom throughout the growing season until the first frost. Mule types are dwarf, growing to a height of 12-14 in (30-35 cm), and bear a profusion of frilled, double, 2-in (5-cm) wide blooms in shades of yellow, orange, and red. Popular types are 'Fireworks Hybrids,' whose blooms may grow 3 in (8 cm) wide, and 'Nugget Hybrids,' which tolerate wet weather well.
Tagetes patula (French marigold), a dwarf plant, is excellent for edging and window boxes. Its cultivars range in height from 6 in (15 cm) to 10-12 in (25-30 cm). Most bear double or created flowers; some have dainty single flowers. Double-flowered ones are 'Boy Hybrids' (a mixture of yellow, gold, orange, or mahogany-red cultivars), 'Happy Days Hybrids' (mahogany-red or golden yellow; very heat tolerant), 'Honeycomb' (red and yellow crested), 'Queen Bee' (interlaced red and yellow), 'Queen Sophia' (russet petals edged with gold), 'Royal Crested Hybrids' (mixed, crested), and 'Tiger Eyes' (red, and deep orange, crested). Single-flowered French marigolds include 'Disco Hybrids' (red, yellow, orange, or gold and maroon; early blooming; rain tolerant), 'Marietta Hybrids' (golden yellow with maroon blotches), and the 'Mischief' series (mixed or yellow, gold, mahogany, or red and gold). Tagestes tenuifolia pumila (signet marigold), a delicate plant with slender growth, has finely divided, sweet-smelling light green leaves and small yellow flowers. Cultivars include 'Golden Gem' (golden yellow) and 'Lemon Gem' (pale yellow).

Annuals
and
Biennials