The Gardener South Africa – September 2019

http://www.thegardener.co.za I 57

H

ello sunshine! That’s the cheerful greeting
you get from marigolds, and what better
tonic is there than a bed, border or
container filled with these cheerful flowers.
Marigolds are fuss-free, quick-growing, and cope
with the heat even during the hottest time of the year.
They are relatively drought tolerant, needing regular
but not excessive watering. The flowers are edible,
the leaves can be used in insect-repelling sprays, and
the roots produce a substance (alpha-terphenyl) that
suppresses the growth of plant-parasitic nematodes
and other organisms such as fungi, bacteria, insects
and some viruses. A good, all-round garden citizen,
then.
There are two types of marigolds, and each has
their charm and use in the garden.
African marigolds (Tagetes erecta) have large
double flowerheads that are ball shaped. Most
varieties are 30 – 40cm high, carrying the round
heads above dark green leaves on sturdy, compact
plants that always look lush and healthy. In addition
to yellow, gold and orange, there is a creamy-white
variety called ‘Vanilla’. They are best used as a
bedding and landscape plant, massed in front of taller
perennials like salvias, pentas, ornamental millets,
grasses and shrubs.
French marigolds (Tagetes patula) have a variety
of flower shapes: anemone, frilly doubles and crested
doubles. The anemone type is the showiest, with a
wide range of colours, the prettiest being mahogany
edged with yellow or golden-yellow tipped with red.
The double-crested varieties have larger frilly flowers
that come closest to the pom-pom shape. Novelties
are ‘Fireball’ and ‘Strawberry Blonde’ that produce
multicolour blooms on the same plant. Most French
marigolds grow 25cm high and wide but there are
very compact dwarf varieties that stay 15cm high and
wide and are very heat tolerant.
French marigolds are good edging and border
plants for smaller spaces and can be used en masse as
bedding plants. They combine well with angelonias,
alyssums, bedding salvias, felicias, petunias and vincas.
They are durable, rewarding container plants that
don’t overwhelm other plants in a mixed container.

Tagetes erecta ‘Durango Bolero’

Edible

flow er s

Insect-

repelling

lea v es Roots suppress

the gr ow th of

parasitic fungi,

bacteria, insects

and some viruses

Tagetes erecta ‘Vanilla’