Marigolds are herbaceous perennials and annuals from the Astra family. Their homeland is America. However, a few centuries ago, the Spanish conquistadors brought the plant to Europe. Now the flower is a permanent inhabitant of European and Russian flower beds. It is also called "Turkish carnation", "targeting", "student flower", "black man", "Mary's gold". A long flowering period, rich aroma and unpretentious character make marigolds the favorites of gardeners. It is especially pleasant that the plants also benefit: they strengthen health and repel harmful insects from the beds.
The appearance of marigolds
Marigolds are flowering plants with herbaceous shoots and a well-developed stem or fibrous rhizome. The entire underground part is smooth, whitish. A dense erect stem with lateral branches grows 20-120 cm in height. A shrub forms soon after germination. The shoot surface is ribbed, dark green or burgundy.
Along its entire length opposite or next petiole leaves grow. They have an airy, openwork look. Cirrus-dissected or serrated leaves are painted in various shades of green. Aromatic glands are present on the surface of the leaf plate.
The first flowers on marigolds appear in June-July. They adorn the bushes until the frost. Inflorescences-baskets are formed at the tops of shoots. They have an elongated green cup of fused corrugated leaves. In the center are tubular flowers with shorter and darker corollas. Closer to the edge, reed flowers with wavy oval petals grow in several rows. Coloring is red, burgundy, purple, orange or yellow. Most often in one inflorescence several flowers are mixed at once. Inflorescences themselves are simple and double.
Pollinated plants with insects and wind. After that, dense achenes with many long linear seeds ripen. They have a motley black and white color. Germination persists for 3-4 years. In 1 g of seed, there are 280-700 seeds.
Species diversity
Although there are more than 50 plant species in the genus Marigold, usually gardeners use only 3 main species and their decorative varieties.
Tagetes erect (African). The highest plants reach 120 cm in height. Their branched dense stems end with terry spherical inflorescences up to 15 cm in diameter. Yellow shades predominate in the color of the petals. Plants are good for cutting. Varieties:
- Yellow stone - a shrub 70 cm high dissolves terry golden yellow baskets with a diameter of 8 cm;
- Alaska - wide bushes (45-60 cm in height) bloom with spherical cream inflorescences about 10 cm in diameter;
- Antigua - compact bushes 25 cm high are covered with large (15 cm in diameter) lemon-yellow or bright yellow inflorescences.
Marigolds rejected (French). More compact plants due to highly branched shoots form a spherical bush 20-50 cm in diameter. Sprigs are covered with cirrus green leaves with narrow lanceolate lobes and a dark green color. On the surface there are many brown glands. Cup-shaped single baskets with a diameter of 4-6 cm grow on a swollen leg. Petals - lemon, orange, brown-brown, burgundy. Flowering begins in July. Varieties:
- Bonanza - a bush of 30 cm in height dissolves orange, yellow or burgundy terry baskets with corrugated petals;
- Carmen - a branched bush 30-35 cm tall blooms with double orange-yellow flowers with brown dusting.
Marigold thin-leaved (Mexican). A small flowered bush up to 40 cm high is covered with openwork dissected leaves. Complex shields, consisting of small simple baskets with a lush core and wide petals, open at the ends of the branches. Inflorescences have an orange-red or light yellow hue. Varieties:
- Lulu - a dense spherical bush with a diameter of 30 cm dissolves small lemon flowers;
- Gnome - in early June, on the spreading bush about 25 cm in height, the first orange baskets appear.
Growing flowers
Marigolds are grown from seeds. For this, seedling and seedling methods are used. Seedlings are usually very persistent and unpretentious. The feasibility of growing seedlings exists only in regions with prolonged cold weather. So you can get flowering plants faster. In mid-March (upright) or in early April (thin-leaved, rejected), seedlings begin to grow. Use shallow containers with a mixture of peat, turf land, sand and humus. The soil is disinfected with a strong solution of potassium permanganate. Seeds are distributed evenly to a depth of about 1 cm. They are sprayed with water and kept in ambient light and at a temperature of + 22 ... + 25 ° C. Shelter seedlings are not needed.
The first shoots appear after 3-4 days. After that, brighter lighting is needed, and the temperature is lowered to + 15 ... + 18 ° C. Plants are regularly watered, and the grown seedlings dive in separate pots. In this case, the stem is buried to the cotyledons. Then in the future marigolds will look more compact and strong. At the end of May, the root system will develop quite strongly and will completely cover the earthen lump. After warming the soil, seedlings are planted on the site. The distance depends on the height of a particular variety and is:
- 10-15 cm for undersized;
- 20 cm for medium-sized;
- 30-40 cm for tall marigolds.
In order to do without growing seedlings, in the second half of April, seeds are sown in warm soil in rows to a depth of about 3 cm. They are covered with soil and watered. Shoots appear in 5-7 days. The grown plants are thinned and transplanted to maintain the required distance.
Outdoor Care
Bright light is very important for marigolds, so they are planted in open, sunny areas. Plants will not die in partial shade and even in deep shade, however, they will cease to bloom at all. The soil should be loose and nutritious. Loams with neutral acidity are very suitable.
The main part of daily care is regular watering. It is especially important in spring and early summer, before the appearance of flowers. Then the irrigation is gradually reduced to prevent stagnation of water at the roots.
On fairly fertile soil, fertilizers can be completely abandoned. If the soil is poor, plants are fed 2-3 times a season with a mineral complex or mullein solution.
Young bushes need regular weeding and loosening of the soil. At the beginning of growth, they especially suffer from the dominance of weeds, and the crust on the surface prevents air from reaching the roots.
After wilting, the flowers are cut to maintain the decorativeness of the plantings. This procedure also prevents uncontrolled self-seeding. In the summer, when the shoots grow greatly, a more radical haircut will help to improve the appearance of the flowerbed. With it, up to half of all processes are removed. Soon new green shoots will appear and flowering will resume.
In a temperate climate, marigolds are not able to survive the winter, so all varieties are grown as annuals. In late autumn, it makes no sense to cover plants. Dry shoots are cut, and the site is dug up, preparing for a new flower garden.
Diseases affect marigolds extremely rarely and only with a systematic violation of agricultural technology. In the ground part of the plant contains a large number of volatile, which are detrimental to the fungus and repel insects. It is these substances that exude a familiar specific aroma. Among the most annoying parasites, spider mites are distinguished. Also in too thickets slugs and snails can settle.
Decorative use
Marigolds will occupy a dominant position in any flowerbed. Depending on the height of the variety they are determined in the foreground or middle ground. Also, flowers can be used to border the site, planting along buildings and in a mixborder. Stems of high varieties will have to be tied up so that they do not obscure the path.
Marigolds look best in single plantings, but you can use them in a mixed flower garden. They are combined with petunia, juniper, jaundice, alissum. Low-growing varieties can be used for container planting on balconies and terraces. High ones are suitable for cutting and spectacular in bouquet compositions.
Marigolds are often planted in the garden, between beds of cabbage, cucumbers and other vegetables. Their specific aroma repels parasites.
Medicinal properties and contraindications
Marigold leaves and flowers are used not only for decorative and household purposes. In some countries, they serve as a seasoning and medicine. The high content of essential oils, flavonoids, phytoncides, vitamins, micro and macro elements makes the plant very valuable in folk medicine.
The collection of medicinal raw materials is produced during the flowering period. It is dried and ground, and then used to prepare decoctions, water or oil infusions.
The drugs have a beneficial effect on the pancreas and are able to stop an attack of pancreatitis or the manifestation of diabetes. To notice the antiviral effect of marigolds, it is enough to add a few petals to ordinary tea during the spread of colds. Also, drugs have laxative, sedative, antispasmodic, diuretic, anthelmintic actions. They are indicated for hypertensive patients and people arriving in a state of nervous tension.
With moderate use of contraindications, marigolds do not. You should only take drugs with caution and in small quantities to people prone to allergies, as well as pregnant women.
