Tagetes

These ornamental annuals are natives of Mexico and South America and belong to the Daisy family. Tagetes erecta, the African Marigold, can grow 2-4 feet high and will produce large, single or double flowers colored orange or yellow. Tagetes patula, the French Marigold, can reach a height of 9 inches to 2 feet and the blossoms come in yellow or yellow marked with a reddish-brown color. Hybrids that have been raised from the African and French Marigolds come in solid red, some in solid yellow and some in combinations of red and golden-yellow. The flowers are double and 2-3 inches in diameter; the plants are bushy and can grow about 18 inches tall. These plants bloom throughout the summer and fall and are great for cut flowers. T. tenuifolia (signata) pumila, the Dwarf Signet Marigold, is a native to Mexico and grows into a bushy plant up to a foot tall. Its foliage is finely divided and many single, orange flowers about an inch in diameter are produced. This plant requires the same care as the dwarf French Marigold. T. lucida, Winter Tarragon, is also native of Mexico. This half-hardy, bushy perennial is treated as an annual and will grow from 1 to 2 feet tall. The Winter Tarragon is related to the garden Marigold and they have long unbranched stems and simple, willowy leaves. The foliage of the Winter Tarragon has a medium green color, not a blue-green color like the leaves of the French Tarragon (see, Artemisia). In autumn or winter it produces small golden-yellow flowers made up of a single layer of ray florets and a central tuft of disk florets. The foliage has a sweet smell with a touch of Anise and is a fine substitute when French Tarragon is out of season.

Pot Cultivation

When these plants are grown outside, they shouldn't have overly rich soil, because this will make luxuriant vegetative growth at the expense of flower production. They should be planted 12-15 inches apart. They will bloom even faster if they are started indoors rather than sowing the seeds directly outdoors. When they are used as greenhouse plants they are great for winter and spring display. They make lovely pot plants and cut flowers. Their soil shouldn't be too rich and the pots need to have good drainage. When the plants have filled up their containers with roots, weekly applications of a dilute liquid fertilizer will be beneficial. These plants must have full exposure to sun at all times and they should have a cool, well-ventilated atmosphere. The temperature at night can be 50 degrees; on dull days it may rise about 5 degrees and on sunny days, 10 to even 15 degrees higher. Earlier blooming and more flowers may be obtained from Tagetes growing in a greenhouse in the wintertime if daylight is substituted with artificial light (either fluorescent or incandescent). Winter Tarragon is easy to grow indoors and out . As a houseplant, Winter Tarragon will yield light winter cuttings for table use. Winter Tarragon is best when used fresh; snip off the last 3 to 6 inches of branch tips for the tenderest leaves. If they are carefully dried, the leaves will keep some of their aroma.

Propagation

Seeds can be sown 6 to 12 weeks before the plants are to be planted outdoors, in a greenhouse where a 70-degree temperature is maintained. The seeds are scattered in pots or flats filled with finely sifted sandy soil and are lightly covered with soil. Cover the containers with glass and shade them from sunlight. If they're kept moist, they'll germinate in a few days. When the baby plants are 1 or 2 inches high, they can be transplanted to flats that are 3-4 inches deep and filled with sandy, loamy compost. They should be spaced 3 or 4 inches apart. Later on, they should be placed in a cold frame until they are planted outdoors. This is after all danger of frost has passed and the weather is warm and settled. As the time draws closer to plant them outdoors they need to be hardened off by increasing the ventilation and finally exposing them to the air. Seeds can also be sown directly outdoors where they are to grow by sprinkling them thinly in a well-prepared seedbed after danger of frost has passed. They are thinned out until they are no closer than 10 inches apart. This method, as mentioned earlier, takes longer for the plants to bloom than if they were started indoors. The location that you choose for these plants must be fully exposed to sun if they are to be successful. For winter blooming, when growing in a greenhouse, seeds should be sown in August or September; for spring blooming, sow them in January. The seedlings should be transplanted to flats, or separately in small pots, and later, into larger pots as needed. Pots that are 5-7 inches in diameter are good sizes to have your plants flower in. You can grow one to three plants in a pot. Winter Tarragon is ordinarily propagated by from cuttings, which root easily. Take cuttings in early autumn before they begin to bloom and start them in pots inside.