Ornamental · Asteraceae
Marigold
Tagetes
Plant it in full sun and well-drained soil and marigold cranks out bloom from early summer until frost.
Full sun
Every 5–7 days
59–86°F · 15–30°C
45–90 days
Overview
Marigolds pack a huge payoff for almost no effort, which is why gardeners keep coming back to them. This daisy-family flower traveled north from Mexico and Central America, and it now thrives just about anywhere as a fast, easygoing annual. It fires off bright single and double blooms in gold, orange, and red from early summer clear through to the first frost.
Dig into the genus and a few standout types jump out. French marigolds stay low and bushy, African types rocket to knee height with fat pompon heads, and the perky little Signet marigolds mound up under lacy, citrus-scented leaves. Pin down which one you are growing and you instantly know how much room it wants and how tall it will climb.
Best of all, marigolds shrug off nearly every rookie mistake. Hand them sun and ground that drains, snip off spent flowers now and then, and they bloom hard for months on end. Drown them or jam them into damp shade, though, and you swap all that color for mites, rot, and mildew.
Care
The short version: plant marigolds in full sun and well-drained soil, water only when the top of the soil dries, feed lightly at planting, and deadhead spent flowers to keep the blooms firing.
Light
Marigolds crave full sun, at least six hours of direct light a day, to bloom flat out. They will scrape by on a little partial sun, but push them into real shade and you get leggy, floppy plants and a fraction of the flowers.
Water
Let the top half of the soil dry out between waterings, roughly every 5 to 7 days once the plants find their feet. Marigolds shrug off drought and thrive kept a touch dry rather than soggy, since overwatering throws the door open to rot and disease.
Soil
Drop them into well-drained loam with a pH of 6.0 to 7.0, right around neutral. They shrug off poor fertility, but they flat-out reject ground that stays wet, so drainage counts for way more than rich soil.
Temperature
They power along in the warmth between 59°F and 86°F (15°C to 30°C). Frost stops them cold, so hold off until settled weather before you set plants out.
Humidity
Marigolds run happiest on the dry side, around 30% to 50% humidity. Damp, muggy air fuels gray mold, so moving air beats any humidity reading hands down.
Feeding
Mix a balanced general-purpose fertilizer into the bed at planting and then step back. Marigolds rarely ask for seconds, and piling on feed grows leaves instead of flowers.
Pruning
Deadhead the spent flowers as they fade and the plant keeps firing out fresh ones for months. Snapping off the old blooms also strips away the soft, rotting tissue that gray mold pounces on in humid weather.
Repotting
Marigolds rarely need repotting, since most blaze through their single season right where you plant them. Just watch for roots circling the cell or busting out the drainage holes on a seedling that has waited too long to hit the ground.
Size & spacing
Plants shoot up anywhere from 6 to 47 inches (15 to 120 cm) tall depending on the type, from the low French marigolds to the towering African ones. Give each a spread of 6 to 12 inches (15 to 30 cm) so air rips through freely and the foliage dries between waterings.
When to plant
Marigolds crave warm soil and zero frost, and that is the whole trick. Fire up the seeds indoors in spring or sow them straight into the ground once the cold clears out, and the plants blaze away from early summer until the first fall frost calls time.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Sow: 6 to 10 weeks before the last spring frost
- Plant: After the last spring frost when the soil has warmed
- Harvest: Early summer until the first fall frost
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 2–11
Temperature: down to -46°C
Troubleshooting
Most marigold trouble shows its hand first on the leaves or the fading flowers, usually right after a rough patch of weather. Catch those early signs and you can pounce before a small snag spreads. Match what you spot below, then move while your effort still pays off.
Yellow-flecked leaves under a thin web
Yellow flecks and a thin web across the leaves mean spider mites have moved in, and they multiply fast when heat and dry air hit. Tap a leaf over white paper and the specks start scrambling, so you know for sure. Hit the plants with a hard blast of water, work insecticidal soap into the worst leaves, and keep that soil from drying out to shut the mites down before they spread.
Fix:
- Spray plants with a strong jet of water to dislodge mites
- Apply insecticidal soap or horticultural oil to affected foliage
- Remove heavily infested leaves
Chewed leaves and flowers with telltale slime trails
Ragged bites through the leaves and flowers, with slime trails glinting at dawn, mean slugs and snails raided the plants overnight in the damp. Head out in the evening and pick them off, or drop iron phosphate bait right where they gather to feed. Rake away the mulch and old debris while you are at it, since that strips out the cool, moist hideouts they retreat to all day.
Fix:
- Handpick slugs and snails in the evening
- Set out traps or iron phosphate slug bait
- Remove debris and mulch that provide hiding places
Gray mold creeping over the fading blooms
A gray fuzz creeping over aging or bruised flowers is Botrytis gray mold, and it pounces when the air stays humid and wet. Snap off the affected blooms and toss them, then stay ahead of deadheading so old flowers never sit long enough to rot. Aim the water at the base to keep the leaves dry, and space the plants out so fresh air keeps moving and the mold loses its grip.
Fix:
- Remove and discard affected flowers and debris
- Deadhead spent blooms promptly
- Improve air circulation around plants
New shoots crowded with soft little bugs
Those green or black clusters swarming the fresh shoots are aphids, and the sticky sheen they leave is honeydew. Blast them with a strong stream of water and most of them go flying, then follow up with insecticidal soap to clear the stragglers when numbers spike. Dial back the nitrogen feed too, because the soft, leafy surge it drives is exactly the buffet aphids race toward.
Fix:
- Spray aphids off with a strong stream of water
- Apply insecticidal soap if populations are high
- Encourage beneficial insects such as ladybugs
Toxicity
Marigold is one of the friendliest flowers to grow around pets, livestock, and kids. Garden marigold is essentially non-toxic, and the petals are edible, so they brighten up salads and garnishes. The only thing to flag is the sap, which can mildly irritate sensitive skin, so pull on gloves when you handle a big batch.
Safe for
People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Cats Safe
Garden marigold barely registers as toxic to cats, so a curious nibble does no real harm. A sensitive cat might get a slight mouth or skin irritation from the sap, and that is the whole story.
Dogs Safe
A dog can chomp marigold and walk away just fine. At worst the sap sparks a little drooling or mild skin irritation that clears up on its own.
Horses Safe
Marigold gets along with horses and has no record of poisoning them. A sensitive horse brushing the foliage may pick up nothing worse than a faint skin irritation.
Rabbits Safe
Rabbits can dig into marigold without any danger, and the flowers make a harmless snack. Only the sap might spark minor irritation now and then, and even that is rare.
Livestock Safe
Cattle, goats, and sheep take marigold in stride with zero ill effect. The mild sap is the one thing to note, and it seldom amounts to anything at all.
Birds Safe
Marigold poses no poisoning threat to birds, and plenty happily raid the bright petals. Nothing here demands any caution.
People Safe
The petals are edible and jazz up salads and garnishes, so marigold is safe for people to enjoy. The one thing to keep in mind is that the sap can mildly irritate sensitive skin, so gloves help when you handle a big batch.
Wear gloves when handling, as the sap may irritate skin.
Helpline numbers
United States
ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435 (fee applies)
United Kingdom
Animal PoisonLine: 01202 509000 (fee applies)
Australia
Animal Poisons Helpline: 1300 869 738
Varieties
Marigolds sprawl across a wide range of sizes and forms, but most gardens grow one of a few crowd favorites. These are the ones worth knowing by name.
French marigold (Tagetes patula)
Staying compact at 6 to 12 inches tall, these pack smaller single or double blooms that often mix red, orange, and yellow in one flower.
African/American marigold (Tagetes erecta)
Shooting up to 3 to 4 feet, these tall growers crown themselves with big pompon double flowers that stretch up to 5 inches across.
Signet marigold (Tagetes tenuifolia)
Mounding low at 6 inches or less, these scatter small edible citrus-scented single flowers over lacy foliage.
Triploid hybrids
Sterile crosses of French and African types, these keep pumping out flowers all season long because they set little seed.
Companions
Marigolds earn their keep beside vegetables, but only when grown as a full-season cover crop in the soil you plan to plant later.
Plant near
Vegetable crops: French and African marigolds grown as a season-long pre-plant cover crop produce alpha-terthienyl that suppresses root-knot nematode populations, benefiting susceptible vegetables grown in the same soil afterward.
How to propagate
Marigolds multiply about as easily as any flower going, rocketing up from seed and often sowing themselves for the following year.
SeedEasy
Spring
Seed is the way to go with marigolds in spring, and they leap out of the ground and take off fast with barely any effort. Sow them right where you want them or get a jump indoors, and once a planting digs in it loves to self-sow, dropping seed that springs up on its own the next year.
Myths
Pot marigold and true marigold are the same plant.
Not even close, since they hail from completely different genera. Pot marigold is Calendula officinalis, which is non-toxic to pets, while the true marigolds are Tagetes species. The names collide, but the two plants never swap in for each other.
A few marigolds among the vegetables instantly protect them from root-knot nematodes.
The payoff only lands when marigolds fill the soil as a dense pre-plant cover crop for a whole season. Scatter a handful among your vegetables and they simply will not hold nematodes back.