I think many people know what marigold flowers are. Growing from seeds, when to plant, how to care for these beautiful flowers - let's talk about it. There are so many varieties of marigolds that everyone will find and grow their own for tall or low flowerbeds, decorate the garden path, or even mask a plain place in the country. Marigolds on the balcony, veranda will also be appropriate. This bright and conspicuous flower, the people have several names: Chernobrivtsi, tagetes, lights, but most often they are called marigolds. This flower is loved by many for its attractive appearance and unpretentiousness, which makes it possible even for a novice gardener to quickly and easily grow them and decorate their plot or territory near the house.
Tagetes, photo:
Tagetes is not at all difficult to grow, and the palette of its shades and varieties really amazes with its variety. There are marigolds undersized, growing in different directions with a lush bush (rejected), there are real giants among them, growing up to 100 cm in height. There are miniature thin-leaved varietal species, as well as terry large representatives that resemble balls of all shades of the sun.
Types of marigolds, their appearance and properties
All varieties of tagetes have a flat stalk and a thick "crown" of the bush itself, the characteristic, recognizable aroma of this flower is difficult to confuse with any other. The height of the plants can be from 20 to 120 cm, the shape of the buds is as diverse as the type of petals. They can be reed, twisted into long thin tubes, terry, the buds themselves are densely packed, “shaggy”, corolla-shaped, chamomile-like, like cloves. The foliage of a plant varies depending on the variety: cirrus, jagged, separate, light or completely dark green. Marigold flowers please the eye long enough - from the beginning of summer until the onset of the first cold weather.
Marigolds and snow, photo:
In general, varieties of tagetes are divided into:
- Erect - in diameter, their buds can reach 12-15 cm, and the bush itself - 1 meter or more in height.
- Low or deviated - they are small in size, their height can vary from 20 to 40 cm, the flower itself in diameter is on average 5-8 cm. Terry varieties are also found among ordinary petal varieties.
- Marigold thin-leaved are the smallest representatives, their multiple flowers are small, but bright. Foliage carved, as if openwork, the aroma of thin-leaved tagetes is always very expressive. On the flower beds, these varieties form flower balls, and up to 100 flowers can bloom on each of the bushes. The bush itself is low, about 20 cm, and the flowers are up to 2 cm in diameter. These marigolds are also called Mexican, to date, about 60 varieties of hybrids of similar low plants have been bred by breeders.
Often you can hear such a question from novice gardeners - marigolds rejected and erect, their difference in what? Upright specimens often have one large bud on the stem, and deviated species actively branch and have many flowers on one bush. The color scheme, as mentioned above, varies in all sunny shades, as well as lemon, cream-white, bright orange and rich red. Tagetes are decorated with flower beds, balconies, large flowerpots, they are grown in containers - anywhere. In addition to a bright appearance, these flowers scare away all kinds of garden pests with their aroma, and also inhibit the manifestations of fungi.
Marigold flowers can often be seen near the beds with strawberries - and for good reason, because their intense aroma is not to the liking of weevils, who love it very much. Experienced gardeners planted tagetes next to cabbage beds, because it very efficiently ventures the whitewash, again, thanks to its strong smell. This flower can also protect its fellow representatives of the floral world. Marigolds will protect asters from Fusarium, and phloxes, roses, chrysanthemums, clematis from nematodes. Among other things, dried marigold flowers (petals) are used in cooking, as a spice or spice. In traditional medicine, tagetes is also actively used for the prevention and treatment of various diseases.
Marigolds along the track, photo:
When to plant marigolds on seedlings
This plant propagates by seed, you can just take the seeds and sow them right on the site with the onset of spring, when you are finally sure that the frosts will not return. The best time for this is May. After the seedlings rise, the seedlings can be thinned out and placed more freely - this is the planting of marigold seeds in open ground. From the time of sowing to the beginning of flowering, usually two months or a little more. By the timing of the entry into the flowering phase, seeds that were sown simply in the soil are two weeks late from the previously grown seedlings. But then, until the deepest autumn, they will delight your eyes with their bright flowering. Sprouts hatch for 10-12 days, the main thing is not to deepen the seeds too much when sowing.
How to grow marigold from seeds in another case? Tabetes are pre-planted in special containers, and after the end of the frosts, the finished grown seedlings are transferred to flower beds, beds, etc. If we take into account the fact that from the moment of emergence of sprouts and before flowering should take about 40 or 50 days, then seed material should be sown somewhere in early April. Marigold is planted with seeds in a special soil mixture, which you can buy at a flower shop or make it yourself. Such a composition is quite suitable: 2 parts of peat, 1 part of compost (or humus), 0.5 parts of pure river sand (can be preliminarily calcined). At the bottom of the tank there should be openings, as well as drainage laid in a thin layer (about 3 cm of fine gravel or expanded clay). For seed propagation, it is best to take the freshest material, but if the shelf life of the seeds did not exceed 2 years and was carried out according to all the rules (dryness and darkness), then they are also suitable. What marigold seeds look like can be seen in the photo below.
Seed photo:
Seeds are either bought at a flower shop, or collected personally with completely dried inflorescences, which are left on the bush just for these purposes. From the beginning of flowering and to the time of collection of seeds should take about 40-45 days. Be prepared for the fact that the collected seeds can give flowers that are slightly different in appearance - this is a normal phenomenon with the independent collection of sowing material of tagetes. Cross-pollination of marigolds often gives interesting hybrids. How to collect marigold seeds? Just pull the top with dried petals, and the seeds remain in your hand.
They should be stored in a dry and dark place, in a paper or cloth bag, and sown safely in the spring in the spring. The sooner you sow the seeds, the sooner they will sprout and bloom. Experienced gardeners sow erect varietal species in the second half of March, and low-growing and small-leaved trees, in turn, sow in the first week of April. Thus, you can adjust the timing of the simultaneous flowering of all varieties, approximately in June they should please you with the first buds and inflorescences.
What follows is another interesting point - do you need to soak the marigold seeds before planting? For sowing, seed can be presoaked in water, but not necessary. Soaked in water at room temperature, as well as slightly sprouted seeds, give a higher percentage of germination and density of seedlings. This option will be relevant if you managed to get some very rare varieties, and even in small quantities. Then, in order to increase their germination capacity, you can pre-soak them not only in water, but in water with a solution of growth activator.
Another, no less interesting option on how to grow marigolds is planting seeds with cultivating the land with boiling water. Why is this all done? The seed has a natural ethereal shell, it "works" as a barrier during peeling. And hot water simply dissolves it, washes it off, thereby facilitating the germination of seeds. How does this happen? A container is taken, drainage is placed at the bottom, filled with pre-prepared soil mix, then all this is generously poured with freshly boiled water. While the soil is hot, take tweezers and use it to deepen the seeds into the soil, not too deep, then the container is covered with plastic wrap, placed on the heating battery (for about 1 hour), and then transferred to the windowsill, etc.
Marigold shoots, photo:
You can beat this cultivation of marigolds through seedlings in a slightly different way. For this, a container with earth is prepared, as described above, the seeds are slightly pressed into the soil (using a spoon), and only then the whole thing is spilled abundantly with boiling water. The end result of this does not change. The container should also be covered with polyethylene, put closer to the heat source (heating battery or its electrical analogue) for 1 hour, and after that it should be transferred to the place designated for seedlings. After such a "shock" treatment, the seed comes out much faster and better - it is checked.
How to Grow Marigold Seedlings
And now let's look at the classic version of planting seeds for seedlings:
- The black-foot disease is what most often destroys marigold seedlings. To prevent this from happening, it is better to pre-disinfect the planting tank and steam the soil mixture. For processing, you can use the fungicides "Vitaros" or "Maxim", they are dissolved in water according to the instructions, and then a container filled with earth is spilled. For greater certainty, if possible, steam the soil in a double boiler for about 1 hour. A similar procedure will destroy all harmful fungi and viruses.
- Press the treated soil a little (compact), slightly moisten from the spray gun. On its surface we make shallow “beds”, and they should be located in a couple of centimeters from each other. Next, carefully place the seeds in the beds, sprinkle with a thick layer of soil (about 1 cm).
- Watering seedlings should be done very carefully so that the stream of water does not knock out seeds from the soil. At the same time, it is extremely important that the soil mixture is always moderately moist! Tanks with planted seeds are constantly kept warm, the air temperature should not be lower than +20 .. + 23 ºС. If you want, you can additionally cover the container with plastic wrap, create a kind of greenhouse for plants. But such a "greenhouse" will need to be aired daily.
- How many marigold seeds sprout? With the correct observance of these simple manipulations, the seeds should come up no earlier than 7-8 days later.
- After the first shoots have appeared, the capacity must be transferred to the light - in a place where the temperature will be lowered to +16 .. + 18 ºС.
- When the sprouts appear the first 2 or 3 full leaves, they can be dived. It is best to transplant plants in special cassettes for seedlings or in plastic cups. Once every 2-3 weeks it will be possible to feed the young livestock with complex fertilizer to give strength, "Agricola" or "Mortar" are well suited for this.
Next, we dive marigolds. Planting seedlings in cassettes is still the most convenient in all respects. The soil mixture can be used similar to that which was bought / made for sowing seeds. To improve marigold growth, nitrogen-phosphorus fertilizer and wood ash can be added to the soil (1 full tablespoon of fertilizer + 2 full tablespoons of ash for every 5 liters of soil mix). Everything is thoroughly mixed and distributed over the cassettes, the earth is slightly pressed down, with a pencil (conveniently) a recess is made in it, where the seedling will be placed.
Marigolds, seedlings, photo:
The seedling itself is carefully removed from the overall capacity. To do this, you can use the handle of a spoon - conveniently and will not damage the roots. We deepen the plant into the cell of the cassette by about 1 cm, make sure that the cotyledons (lower elongated leaves) do not come into contact with the ground. Next, we carefully water the younger generation. If after watering the soil mixture settles significantly, then add more soil on top. Just saw that the top layer of the earth began to dry out - immediately water the seedlings. But make sure that there are no overflows, it is better to fill up the water than to pour it in excess.
Marigolds - planting and care in the open ground
Marigolds should be planted for permanent residence when the threat of frost has finally passed. Roughly for the middle zone of Russia - this is approximately the second half of June. For warm regions, this may be the last week of April, but, more reliable, the first, or even the second half of May, for planting marigolds in the soil. One caveat: marigold seedlings should be “hardened” at the time of transplanting into the ground. Approximately a couple of weeks before planting, take out the container with seedlings for several minutes to fresh air. Continue to do this every day, gradually increasing the time the plants spend in the fresh air.
You need to decide on a place for planting in advance, it should be sunny, because in the sun "sunny flowers" tagetes will feel most comfortable.
In some cases, you can plant them on a semi-shaded territory, but be prepared for the fact that there, flowers, marigolds will not bloom well and plentifully.
I already wrote about the neighborhood with vegetable and berry crops - you know better what task this flower will be, decorative or decorative-useful. They do not like too wet soil and flooding with water - keep this in mind.
They should not be placed too densely, next to each other, this plant prefers good air exchange. Marigold upright is better planted at a distance of 40-50 cm from each other, lower-growing varieties are closer, 20-30 cm. For marigolds, it is important that the soil is loose and well breathable, fertility does not play a big role in this matter. If clay predominates in the soil at the proposed planting site, then add sand and peat to it in advance. When you make a hole for a plant, keep in mind that the stem will be additionally buried into the ground by about 2 cm. Each seedling is carefully removed from its “nest”, placed in the hole, the soil fills the free space on the sides, the earth around the flower is slightly crimped by hands.
After that, your marigold flowers should be well watered. For the future - do not be afraid to water them with a hose (above), their foliage is not afraid of vertical watering, moisture on flowers or leaves, and rain.
Subsequent care of the seedlings will consist of timely weeding, soil cultivation, removal of weeds. If you really really want to feed tagets with fertilizers, then for the whole season you can feed it with potash and phosphorus additives 1 or 2 times. This will positively affect the splendor and number of buds. You can cover the ground around the bushes with mulch - this will give the plants additional decorative decoration, as well as inhibit the growth of weeds.
If you notice that your marigolds grow too dense - be sure to thin them.
Timely removal of faded buds is also part of the care of the flowers, which helps to prolong the flowering phase. Marigold flowers can also be formed by nipping, if you want the bushes to be more magnificent, then pinch them on top.
These are very unpretentious plants, even if you don’t water them for half a month, they will still bloom and smell.
Tagetes - varieties with photos and names
The distribution of plant sizes was already mentioned above. The most common among us are rejected, erect and thin-leaf varieties of tagetes. Rejected specimens are well branched; they can be either short or medium-sized. High-growing varietal species look solemn and suitable for cutting into a vase. Consider some varieties in more detail.
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Lemon Queen - marigolds erect, one of the highest representatives in the large family of Tagetes. They can grow up to 120 cm in height, but their buds themselves are not too huge, about 8-9 cm in diameter. The hue of the flower is lemon, light yellow, this variety blooms in the very middle of summer - in July.
Lemon Queen, photo:
The gnome is a short, thin-leaved variety, with numerous small, but very sweet, orange and yellow flowers. This is the optimal variety for the design of curbs, in group or mixed stands, it will also look harmonious.
Gnome, photo:
Antigua - marigolds erect, but compact and not too high. The stem height reaches 30 cm, but a large bud can be 12 cm in diameter. This is a decorative variety intended for flowerpots, decorating balconies, mixed tight plantings. Antigua reacts poorly to cold and waterlogged soil. Gives flowers large, saturated yellow, golden and orange. It displays its decorative qualities to the maximum in the sunlit territory.
Antigua, photo:
Mandarin - the name speaks for itself, the color is appropriate, richly orange and even the shape of the flower resembles this citrus. Not a very high grade, as the buds and foliage have a bright rich color. By the way, he has rather interesting foliage - elongated, which only adds to the flower of unusualness. It blooms profusely all summer, so it is a great option for flower beds.
Mandarin, photo:
Lime Green - marigolds erect, growing up to 90cm in height. They boast very large buds that reach 15 cm in diameter. The color is lemon, with greenery, the bush itself has an unusual shape, somewhat reminiscent of a pyramid. It begins to bloom in July and continues to delight the eyes until September inclusive.
Lime Green, photo:
Hawaii - a high-growing variety, can reach 100 cm in height. The buds form, as it were, “baskets”, in diameter they reach 10-12 cm. It blooms from the beginning of summer until frost. A very noticeable decorative tagetes of orange color that looks great on flower beds and is good for cutting.
Hawaii photo:
Tiger Eye - Marigolds rejected, low bushes - 25-30 cm in height. Inflorescences are small (3-5 cm in diameter), with a yellow terry center and red petals at the edges. The color gamut of buds varies from yellow-red to alo-brown shades. This variety looks very attractive, attracts the eyes, great for planting along the paths, on the beds as a central figure. Very unpretentious varietal species, normally tolerates semi-shade, unlike its other counterparts.
Eye of the Tiger, photo:
Vanilla - marigolds of an unusual shade, vanilla white, reminiscent of ice cream balls. The height of the plant is about 40-50 cm, the diameter of the flowers is 6-8 cm, loves the sun, is resistant to heat and drought. It will bloom from the end of June until the first frost.
Vanilla, photo:
Golden Ball - marigolds erect, very tall, reach 100-120 cm in height. They bloom very plentifully, the buds themselves are somewhat reminiscent of chrysanthemums, however, the flower diameter is small - about 6-7 cm. The inflorescences can be ordinary or double, have a golden yellow hue, used for cutting and single plantings. It blooms early - in the first week of June. There is another variety of the Golden Ball - marigolds rejected, giving branched low bushes reaching 30 cm in height. In the shape of a flower, they are similar to their larger counterpart, but they themselves are small, do not exceed 2 cm in diameter. Suitable for "carpet" plantings, resistant to cold.
Golden Ball, photo:
Terry Golden Ball:
Fantastic Orange - relatively tall marigolds growing to 70 cm in height. They are distinguished by rare decorativeness, abundant flowering, and resistance to bad weather. They bloom early - with the advent of the calendar summer, they continue to give you flowers until the first frost. The buds of Fantastic Orange are densely doubled, reaching 9-12 cm in diameter, the shape of the petals is quite unusual - cirrus, with sharp edges.
Fantastic Orange, photo:
French small-flowered - as the name implies, these are low representatives, not exceeding 30-50 cm in height. Small flowers, however, are very bright and noticeable, can have variegated, double-colored petals. These are marigolds rejected, very unpretentious and quite common in our gardens, parks, city beds. Usually bloom before the first frost, can be a rich red hue (Cherry Bracelet). Branching luxuriantly, the diameter of the buds is about 4-5 cm.
French small-colored marigolds, photo:
Smiles is a large plant, but with small buds. Smiles - means smiles, and indeed, the golden, bright yellow, orange numerous buds evoke only positive emotions when you look at them. The variety gives color in mid-summer - in July.
Smiles, photo:
Friels - high-growth marigolds (80 cm high), with bright golden-orange super-wide buds (7-8 cm in diameter). Ideal for flower beds, bloom in the middle or at the end of the calendar summer.
Freels photo:
White Kilimanjaro - marigolds erect, tall, reaching 60-70 cm in height. They are interesting for their unusual color against the background of saturated dark green foliage. This variety is suitable for both flowerbed and slice. It blooms from mid-summer and continues to bloom until the first frost.
White Kilimanjaro, photo:
Marigolds African - this variety of marigolds boasts large buds-balls, terry and plain. The diameter of the flower can be from 10 to 12 cm. This variety looks great in joint plantings, flowerpots and containers, its large flowers can be used to make bouquets. The plant does not tolerate waterlogging of the soil and with prolonged wetting it rots (for example, in the rainy season).
Marigolds African, photo:
Red gem - rejected marigolds that reach 40 cm in height. The shape of the flowers is quite unpretentious, chamomile-like small flowers in diameter can have 2-3 cm. This is the sort of variety, the petals of which are collected, dried and subsequently used as a spice. The bush is abundantly strewn with small, dark red with a yellow core inflorescences. Red gem - characterized by abundant flowering, it is a medium-sized variety. His buds are small, the flowers are not double, but the main advantage is a rich red color with a transition to a burgundy shade. Long flowering, refers to the autumn varieties, as it gives color mainly in the fall.
Red Gem, photo:
Carmen - marigolds rejected, a bush of small sizes (up to 30 cm), the flowers seem to be rustic, but there is something catchy in them. Clove buds, 4-6 cm in diameter, have a rich orange color.
Carmen, photo:
Of course, this is only a small part of all the varieties of marigolds, which, according to recent estimates, have about 60 varieties. All of them are beautiful and surprising in their own way, among the variety of seeds available for sale, you will definitely find the variety species that you would definitely like to plant on your site.
When you sow marigolds on seedlings, how to process the seeds, how to achieve faster germination - you already know. These flowers will become a worthy decoration of your summer cottage, because they have many advantages: unpretentiousness, high decorativeness, cohabitation with other plants, protection of the garden / garden from pests, resistance to drought (if you rarely visit the cottage, they will still bloom).
Plant marigolds at your dacha too! About growing from seeds, when to plant them, how to plant them - everything is described in detail in this article. You just have to make a little effort, and this year your site will sparkle with new bright colors!