Annual Flower · 28 varieties
French marigold
Tagetes patula
Asteraceae — the same plant family as head lettuce, leaf lettuce, common sunflower, purple coneflower and 13 more here. Relatives share pests and diseases, which is why rotation plans group by family.
French marigold (Tagetes patula) is an annual flower. It wants full sun and pH 5.5–7 soil, with about 1 in of water weekly. Watch for spider mites and powdery mildew. Below: its full sourced profile from 2 extension sources, plus a planting calendar timed to your frost dates.
Typical dates for zone 6b — set your zone or ZIP for yours. This calendar assumes the crop is started indoors. Timing is a guide from the crop's sourced growth stages; confirm with your local frost dates and extension before you sow.
What we will not put a number on
We do not give a feeding rate for this crop, and that is deliberate rather than a gap. The figures published by extension services are pounds of nitrogen per acre for a production field — they do not convert safely to a raised bed or a pot without knowing your soil test and your fertilizer's analysis, and guessing errs toward burning roots. It is also why every chart you find online disagrees with the next one.
We give watering as a depth per week rather than gallons per plant, because that is how it is actually measured and how the published figures are written. A gallons-per-plant number depends on your spacing, your soil and whether the plant is in a pot — so it would look more precise than it is.
Site & soil
- Sun
- Full sun
- Soil pH
- 5.5–7
- Soil texture
- Loam, Well drained
- Frost tolerance
- Tender
The plant
- Mature height
- 6–18 in
- Mature spread
- 6–18 in
- Growth rate
- Moderateest
- Spacing in row
- 8–10 in
- Planting depth
- 0.25 in
- Support
- Self-supporting
- Grown from
- Direct sow, Transplant
There is no line here for a container size, how hungry it is, how far apart to space the rows and which parts are eaten, because we have no figure to put there. We went looking and wrote down what we read — it is missing on purpose, not because nobody checked.
Water & feeding
- Water needs
- Low
- Water per week
- 1 in/wk
- Critical water
- Establishmentest
Compiled from the extensions cited below. Which ones actually show up depends on your region — your extension's local list is the last word.
Grown thick and turned into the soil, they suppress root-knot nematodes. A couple between plants mostly just look nice.
Companion pairings from university extensions; badge = how strong the evidence is.
PeopleLow severity, Contact dermatitis
Recorded exactly as the source states it — not medical or veterinary advice. If a person or animal may have eaten a toxic part, call Poison Control (1-800-222-1222) or your vet / the ASPCA line (888-426-4435).
| Variety | Type | Habit | Days | Color | What it is known for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bonanza Bolero | Crested | Dwarf | — | Bicolor | All-America Selections describes this asextra rows of petals · an All-America Selections winner · happy in a pot |
| Bonanza Deep Orange | Crested | Upright | — | Orange | Clemson Cooperative Extension HGIC records this asdeer usually leave it alone · gets by on less water |
| Bonanza Flame | Crested | Dwarf | — | Clemson Cooperative Extension HGIC records this asdeer usually leave it alone · gets by on less water | |
| Bonanza Orange | Crested | Dwarf | — | Orange | Clemson Cooperative Extension HGIC records this asdeer usually leave it alone · gets by on less water |
| Bonanza Yellow | Crested | Dwarf | — | Yellow | Clemson Cooperative Extension HGIC records this asdeer usually leave it alone · gets by on less water |
| Boy O' Boy Mix | Dwarf | — | Bicolor | Gurney's Seed & Nursery Co. describes this ashappy in a pot | |
| Court Jester | Single | Compact | — | Bicolor | |
| Disco Marietta | Single | Dwarf | — | Bicolor | Clemson Cooperative Extension HGIC records this asdeer usually leave it alone · gets by on less water |
| Disco Orange | Single | Dwarf | — | Orange | Clemson Cooperative Extension HGIC records this asdeer usually leave it alone · gets by on less water |
| Durango Bee | Crested | Branching | — | Bicolor | Clemson Cooperative Extension HGIC records this asdeer usually leave it alone · gets by on less water |
| Durango Bolero | Crested | Branching | — | Bicolor | Clemson Cooperative Extension HGIC records this asdeer usually leave it alone · gets by on less water |
| Durango Red | Crested | Branching | — | Red | Clemson Cooperative Extension HGIC records this asdeer usually leave it alone · gets by on less water |
| Durango Tangerine | Crested | Branching | — | Orange | Clemson Cooperative Extension HGIC records this asdeer usually leave it alone · gets by on less water |
| Harlequin Heirloom | Branching | — | Bicolor | John Scheepers Kitchen Garden Seeds describes this asgood for cutting and putting in a vase | |
| Hero Spry | Crested | Mounding | — | Bicolor | All-America Selections describes this asextra rows of petals · an All-America Selections winner · draws bees and butterflies · happy in a pot |
| Janie Bright Yellow | Crested | Dwarf | — | Yellow | Clemson Cooperative Extension HGIC records this asdeer usually leave it alone · gets by on less water |
| Janie Deep Orange | Crested | Dwarf | — | Orange | Clemson Cooperative Extension HGIC records this asdeer usually leave it alone · gets by on less water |
| Janie Flame | Crested | Dwarf | — | Bicolor | Clemson Cooperative Extension HGIC records this asdeer usually leave it alone · gets by on less water |
| Janie Primrose | Crested | Dwarf | — | Yellow | Clemson Cooperative Extension HGIC records this asdeer usually leave it alone · gets by on less water |
| Little Hero Mix | Crested | Dwarf | — | Bicolor | Clemson Cooperative Extension HGIC records this asdeer usually leave it alone · gets by on less water |
| Mr. Majestic | Crested | Branching | — | Bicolor | Clemson Cooperative Extension HGIC records this asdeer usually leave it alone · gets by on less water |
| Naughty Marietta Heirloom | Single | Compact | — | Bicolor | Clemson Cooperative Extension HGIC records this asdeer usually leave it alone · gets by on less water |
| Queen Sophia | Crested | Dwarf | — | Bicolor | Fedco Seeds describes this asextra rows of petals · an All-America Selections winner · happy in a pot |
| Safari Scarlet | Crested | Dwarf | — | Bicolor | Clemson Cooperative Extension HGIC records this asdeer usually leave it alone · gets by on less water |
| Safari Tangerine | Crested | Dwarf | — | Orange | Clemson Cooperative Extension HGIC records this asdeer usually leave it alone · gets by on less water |
| Safari Yellow | Crested | Dwarf | — | Yellow | Clemson Cooperative Extension HGIC records this asdeer usually leave it alone · gets by on less water |
| Sparky Mix | Mounding | — | Bicolor | Clemson Cooperative Extension HGIC records this asdeer usually leave it alone · gets by on less water | |
| Tiger Eye Heirloom | Dwarf | — | Bicolor | Clemson Cooperative Extension HGIC records this asdeer usually leave it alone · gets by on less water |
- Clemson Cooperative Extension HGIC
- NC State Extension
We compile bare facts from these university-extension and horticultural sources, never copied prose. 12 of the 14 values on this page carry a citation. The rest are marked est; hover one and it says why — either nobody publishes a figure we could point at, or a person set it and attached no source. Figures vary with climate and seed source; confirm with your local extension before you buy.
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