Those are some nice looking Marigolds! Yea spring!!

Yes, they are beautiful. :o)

Did you grow them from seed? I just planted seeds for Zowie, Cut and Come Again, Red Aztec (I think) and Zahara.
My butterflies love Zinnias.

yes, they are part of a seed trial and they are amazing! :)

Hi Kathy!! see you at Sylvias

Hi Tina, wow! I need to try some of those ;-)

Tom

Hi Tom, if you'd seriously like a few I'll hang onto them for you

Wow, Tina, you're doing a great job with the marigolds!

I am doing the trial, too, but mine don't seem to be as far along. I think I waited too long to transplant because my beds are infested with a nasty, deep-rooted grass. Here's one part I've gotten ready:

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I also haven't been regular with the Miracle Gro, so they're still little:

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Discovery is supposed to be shorter, so I sowed these directly in the garden. They have been slower to bloom than the ones planted in pots!

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Keep up the good work and keep showing us your pics . . .

Susie

Wow yours are just FABULOUS! I love the huge size of the flower heads. are you Lake Placid?

Yes, Lake Placid. . . just moved back up here a couple months ago.

You must be Largo!

Did you pinch yours when they had 4 or 5 nodes? I wonder if those big heads will topple in the stormy season . . . if they last that long. I read in the brochure that these flowers are for harvesting, but I'd like to keep them in the garden.

I think I'll experiment since I have so many.

Susie

Woops, sorry Susie, I went on spring break vacation and missed your reply. I never pinched mine at all - I had to stick 'em in the ground before I left for India and they were too small. When I got back they had buds and I just couldn't do it. But they seem to be doing just great anyway!

I started a new batch on Sunday just to see how they'd do in hotter weather. The original ones I've already got blooming are just going gangbusters! Do you know if they need deadheading?

I just came back to this page and see that you wrote - sorry I haven't been here lately either. And I guess I rearrnged my photos and they disappeared. How are yours doing now?
I'm not sure about deadheading . . . but so far the blooms look too-good-to-be-real!
Here's a few in front: (The wind has been too much - they have since been staked and corrected themselves)

The long back bed now that the weeds are tamed a little:

Discovery Yellow as an edging, what's left after something ate some

Got any new pics, too?

Susie

Hi Susie, I was thinking I might see you at Sylvia's today. :) I love the marigolds, but they don't draw the butterflies or bees or hummers. I may abort my second batch in favor of butterfly plants. Yours are looking great! are you coming to Lori's swap next weekend?

Hi Tina - Sorry I haven't been back here to answer . . . I got this linked in Bob's email.

It sounds so drastic to have to abort your second batch of babies because they don't attract butterflies. MAybe you could mix them in with butterfly flowers. I have been adding them to every garden and pot in my yard - their vibrant colors seem to go with most everything blooming.

But I haven't seen any butterflies this spring and I wonder if the marigolds' scent confuses them like it is supposed to do with the veggie-garden pests.

I wasn't planning on going to the swap this weekend, but if I do, I'll bring you some asclepias seeds and salvia seeds!

Tina- why did you choose the Marigolds? I was thinking about this AFTER Syvia's party. I grow 'ground control' marigolds and I meant to offer them to you - but I forgot to find out if you are growing only for beauty or for the nematode/insecticidal effect of the marigold.

These seem to also have a somewhat antifungal effect. *shrug* but that could be my imagination.
ANyway I didn't know if you were coming to Lori's this weekend I could bring you a few flower heads.

Barbie

Thanks Susie! I still have tons of marigolds from batch one - there is only so much room. :)

Hi Barbie, I wanted marigolds with heads the size of baseballs and gold enough to blind you in the sun. I was not disappointed! Right now they are mixed in with onions and roses in my front flower bed. yep I dug them up and moved them and they were fine. The mix didn't really work though because a couple of weeks later the roses bloomed all soft pinks and yellows. not so swift a move on my part.

I am going to the swap RAIN OR SHINE!!!! So SEE YA THERE!! I'll have marigolds. :)

I know this thread is a couple of years old...but are Marigolds something that dies off in winter and come back in the spring like periwinkles? I've just recently rediscovered these beauties and planted a few to experiment and was wondering if these "might" return like the periwinkles? Thanks!!

I don't think so, I think they are annuals, which means they'll grow until mature, go to seed and then die off. You have the seeds to start them over.

Hey Nancy!

Kathy's right - marigolds are annuals, and even the ones that I over-summered and over-wintered (out of shear laziness) looked so ratty, they just begged me to pull them out and replace them.

There are so many different kinds of marigolds and they are so easy to start from seed that I always try to have some.

Susie

Oh okay!! Thanks so much...I was hoping they would reseed themselves like the periwinkles lol...but I like them a lot I will just replant them again next year :o)...I do not have the best luck with growing out seeds for some reason.

Ok, the seeds will drop off and blow with the wind and go where ever. If you save them you can plant them where you want them.

Are the seeds on the spent flowers that are all dried up...how do I get them? thanks again for your help Katkin...

Yes, where the flower was, the dried pod at the end of the stalk is the seeds. Just snap or cut them off. Then over some newspaper open the pod, and the seeds will be there. They are long and skinny, not a little round dot. Hope I explained it well enough.

Thanks again Katkin! I'm hoping the seeds will make it through into next season? I might try and store some and see what happens...I'll keep them in the garage in a ziplock bag?

They are quite hardy with enough water, so you might try growing a few though the summer as well.

Will try that, thanks!!!