French marigold, always an impact!

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French marigold is a plant that exhibits very beautiful flowers during the summer.

French marigold key facts

Name – Tagetes patula
Family – Asteraceae
Type – annual

Height – 8 to 36 inches (20 to 90 cm)
Exposure – full sun
Soil – ordinary

Flowering – May to September.

This plant is also often planted in the vegetable patch to fight aphids or nematodes. Planting and care are important to enhance blooming.

Planting French marigold

The planting is an important step, because it determines how the plant will grow and the expected blooming of the French marigold.

• Planting of French marigolds purchased in containers (pots sold in the horticulture stores) usually starts during the month of April to May.
  Mix the earth from your garden with special flower plant soil mix and keep a distance of around 8 to 12 inches (20 to 30 cm) between plants.
• If sowing from seed, start with sowing in a sheltered place during February-March and transfer to a larger pot once in April before setting it in place during the month of May.
• Settle your French marigolds in the middle of your vegetable patch to fight against nematodes, near tomato or near roses to fight against aphids.

Pruning and caring for French marigold

Easy to care for, French marigolds are plants that require very little care, especially when already well settled in.

• To stimulate budding of new flowers, eliminate wilted flowers regularly (deadheading).
• Water in case of strong heat or, for potted French marigolds, as soon as the surface soil is dry.

All there is to know about French marigold

French marigold, which is actually native to Latin America, comes in multiple varieties and as many shapes and colors.

This is a plant with affirmed, striking flowers thanks to their size of course, but also thanks to the stark powerful colors that mark a contrast with their green leaves or those of other plants in your garden.

Also use French marigold to fight against a good number of insects like ants, aphids or whiteflies. In effect, their strong smell is a natural repellent against these garden parasites.

A confusion in names

French marigold normally refers specifically to Tagetes patula.

The name “marigold” has been used for centuries for a great number of flowers – somehow, any low-growing flower that was bunched and bright yellow had a chance of being called marigold. To date, this has led to the name being used for many different flowers:

• pot marigold (Calendula officinalis, which is a medicinal marigold)