my favorite 12 inch Dwarf African, large flowered marigold is the Perfection series

My favorite smaller flowered 12 inch marigold is the Bonanza series and

My favorite 10 inch marigold is the Janie series

All these flower profusely and are compact plants

I've tried Bonanza and Janie in deep orange (my favorite marigold color), and I'm currently trying Cresta Deep Orange. I like all of those. In fact, I'm sowing some Janies today so I can have them into the fall.

I didn't know that they now have Dwarf Africans. The Perfections look nice. Do they really stay short over the whole season?

Yes they do stay short. I've never measured them but they are perfect behind the Janies. My favorite marigold color is yellow and it's just a graduated sea of yellow in the front of the bed I put them in.

Because the flower is so large on the Perfections there are not as many blooms as on the smaller flowered ones but there is a good succession of blooms so there are always flowers