My mother had it in her garden in Southern France and it was winter hardy there. Ours bloomed earlier than October. If I remember right, they bloomed from mid-summer to winter. The foliage itself on this plant is aromatic and contains essential oils. To me, the blooms smelled of licorise.

Mine aren't blooming either and I can't remember when they start.

Our Mexican Mint Marigold (tagetes lucida) blooms in the fall, starting in October. We use it instead of French tarragon, which doesn't do well in our climate.
I've never used it to repel pests, but rather as an herb.
I do plant French marigolds with my root crops to repel nematodes.

My directions said in October, I was really disappointed! I'll try them out, a few, but next year, I'll start them under glass to make them feel hotter weather sooner, to see if it will encourage sprouting! All I ask is if just one grows from the seeds I get, so I can collect the seeds much more. There will be hundreds of them, so one plant is all I need.

Maybe I'll get lucky and they will sprout early, I don't think so, like the post above, the marigolds I've got aren't blooming accept one varitey, Cracker Jack. Maybe in about 2 weeks we will both get some flower on the rest. They say midsummer they naturally bloom, the cracker jack variety is an early bloomer, no signs of even a bloom, just leaves.

Thanks for the input, I know to have patience with these then, but hope for early bloom, they can happen at least.

Many marigolds are not day-neutral. Blooming is triggered primarily by day-length. I dunno about Lucida. As said, the purported insect repelling property of marigolds are not in the flower. The whole plant contains the essential oils and the foliage is fragrant......not just the flower. It doesn't have to bloom to do its insect thing.

scarletdaisies - the main scientifically supported worth of Tagetes is in the reduction of nematodes which attack plant roots. It is the roots of the Tagetes which have this effect, so, as calliope and marlingardener say they don't have to flower to work.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tagetes and nematodes

marlingardener

A little off-topic here but maybe still in the ballpark. I have the Mexican marigold on my list of seeds to order from Johnny's next year to use as a replacement for tarragon, too. You're the first person I've read who uses it for a herb. Do you find it's about as tasty as the French?

I had 200 or more regular marigolds that for some reason gathered to sprout around an old tree stump, in my garden which I know is bad for grub worms, but they were growing next to my pumpkins and squash, that got infested with squash vine borers and squash bugs. I finally thinned them out, but after the infestation. I didn't see any benefits to nemotodes or bug reduction just from the leaf, they smelled nice, but the marigolds were an infestation of their own and took up too much space.

Now with Mexican Marigolds, it might be different, but one plant couldn't possibly do what over 200 would of a normal variety in one area. I'm guessing, but I assumed it was the flower for those reasons. I'm hopeful for these to be more useful as an insecticide.

What ratio of Marigolds to Mexican Marigolds would you say is equal and how do you know if good nematodes are in your garden, plus what plant likely brought it there? It would be interesting to know.

The consensus of the research seems to be that to have any effect the right variety needs to be grown as a cover crop, not interplanted.

"Nematode-suppressive Plants
"Certain marigolds (Tagetes) suppress root knot and lesion nematodes. French marigolds (varieties include 'Nemagold,' 'Petite Blanc,' 'Queen Sophia,' and 'Tangerine') are most effective. Signet marigolds (Tagetes signata or tennifolia) should be avoided because nematodes will feed and reproduce on these. Marigolds do not work well against the northern root knot nematode (Meloidogyne hapla), a species common in areas with cool winters. The effect of marigolds is greatest when they are grown as a solid planting for an entire season. When grown along with annual vegetables or under trees or vines (intercropping), nematode control is usually not very good. To prevent marigold seed from getting in the soil, cut or mow the plants before the flowers open. As with other cultural control methods, nematode populations will rapidly increase as soon as susceptible crops are grown."

Here is a link that might be useful: Nematodes

"Another marigold species, Tagetes minuta is distinct, being a very large plant with tiny flowers. It is usually grown by organic gardeners for its beneficial properties on soil, as the roots exude chemicals which repel couch grass and eelworms."

http://www.plantcultures.org/plants/marigold_grow_it.html

This marigold seeds that I got named Tagetes Minuta grows a very disappointing flower, so it's a good thing it's the roots that are important. Now, with your link above, I would have to grow my marigolds over the top of my garden for one year. That's an option.

What if every other year, I did container gardening? There are other flowers to plant as well, beneficial to bug insecticide and beneficials to the soil.

A flower garden next year might be the way to go. I'll have to think on that, or use one half next year, trade sides the next, or crop rotation in a 4 square garden, one square for flowers only? I like that, what do you think?

Here is a link that might be useful: Marigolds Tagetes Minuta

Susan, I read the same study. That's why I used the word 'purported' benefits. Actually tagetes signets even tested out as making nematode infestations worse.