GardenAnnual Flower · 18 varieties
African marigold
Tagetes erecta
Asteraceae — the same plant family as head lettuce, leaf lettuce, common sunflower, purple coneflower and 12 more here. Relatives share pests and diseases, which is why rotation plans group by family.
African marigold (Tagetes erecta) is an annual flower. It wants full sun and pH 6–7 soil, with about 1 in of water weekly. It matures in about 70–90 days from sowing, or 45–60 days from setting out a transplant. Watch for spider mites and powdery mildew. Below: its full sourced profile from 4 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
- 6–7
- Soil texture
- Loam, Well drained
- Frost tolerance
- Tender
No published figure for the temperature frost starts to hurt it and the temperature that would kill it. We looked — where a number is missing here it is missing from the research, not skipped. The crop’s frost and heat tolerance above still applies.
The plant
- Mature height
- 1–4 ft
- Mature spread
- 1–2 ft
- Growth rate
- Moderateest
- Spacing in row
- 12–18 in
- Between rows
- 12–18 in
- Planting depth
- 0.25 in
- Container size
- 1–3 gal — low end is the minimum, high end is betterest
- Support
- Self-supporting
- Grown from
- Direct sow, Transplant
There is no line here for 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
- Moderate
- Water per week
- 1 in/wkest
- Critical water
- Establishmentest
- Feeding
- Low
Timing & fruiting
- Days to maturity
- 70–90 days from seed · 45–60 days from transplantest
- Harvest cues
- First flowers
Planted again for autumn
- Set plants out by
- early Sep typical · zone 6b
45 days to maturity from setting a plant out — that is what our sources measure for this crop, so this is a date for planting out and not a sowing date, counted back from the first frost above. Not published for anywhere in particular: it is your own frost date and this crop's own figure, which is why it works wherever you are. A days-to-maturity figure is a catalog number for a good season rather than a promise, and a cold month moves it.
Compiled from the extensions cited below. Which ones actually show up depends on your region — your extension's local list is the last word.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antigua Gold F1 | Antigua | Dwarf | 77–84 | Orange | |
| Antigua Orange F1 | Antigua | Dwarf | 77–84 | Orange | True Leaf Market describes this asextra rows of petals |
| Antigua Primrose F1 | Antigua | Dwarf | 77–84 | White | |
| Antigua Yellow F1 | Antigua | Dwarf | 77–84 | Yellow | True Leaf Market describes this asextra rows of petals |
| Climax Mix F1 | Climax | Bush | 65–70 | Bicolor | Good's Store Online describes this asgood for cutting and putting in a vase · happy in a pot |
| Crackerjack Mix Heirloom | Crackerjack | Bush | 45–60 | Bicolor | Fedco Seeds describes this asextra rows of petals |
| Discovery Orange F1 | Discovery | Dwarf | 45–60 | Orange | Ball Horticultural Company describes this asextra rows of petals |
| Discovery Yellow F1 | Discovery | Dwarf | 45–60 | Yellow | Ball Horticultural Company describes this asextra rows of petals |
| Dune Yellow | Dune | Compact | 45–60 | Yellow | GrowSeed describes this asdraws bees and butterflies |
| French Vanilla F1 | French Vanilla | Compact | 45–60 | White | Mississippi State University Extension records this asdeer usually leave it alone · rabbits usually leave it alone · takes the heat · gets by on less water · good for cutting and putting in a vase |
| Gold Coin Heirloom | Gold Coin | Bush | 45–60 | Bicolor | Mississippi State University Extension records this asdeer usually leave it alone · rabbits usually leave it alone · takes the heat · gets by on less water · good for cutting and putting in a vase |
| Inca Gold F1 | Inca | Compact | 45–60 | Orange | Farmers Stop describes this astakes the heat · smells good |
| Inca Orange F1 | Inca | Compact | 45–60 | Orange | Pase Seeds describes this asextra rows of petals |
| Inca Yellow F1 | Inca | Compact | 45–60 | Yellow | Ball Horticultural Company describes this astakes the heat · smells good |
| Jubilee Orange | Jubilee | Bush | 45–60 | Orange | Pase Seeds describes this asextra rows of petals |
| Jubilee Yellow | Jubilee | Bush | 45–60 | Yellow | Pase Seeds (Diamond Seed) describes this asextra rows of petals |
| Perfection Gold F1 | Perfection | Compact | 45–60 | Orange | Farmers Stop describes this astakes the heat · smells good |
| Vanilla F1 | Vanilla | Compact | 45–60 | White | Chicago Botanic Garden describes this asdraws bees and butterflies |
- Mississippi State University Extension
- Missouri Botanical Garden
- NC State Extension
- University of Minnesota Extension
We compile bare facts from these university-extension and horticultural sources, never copied prose. 14 of the 19 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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