Marigolds in your garden

In order to make the area of ​​the villa site attractive or to revitalize the exterior of a city balcony, you do not need to be a professional gardener. Exotics on the flower beds can be successfully replaced with a carpet of marigolds. These lovely flowers can be dissolved even by those who have never planted a seed in the ground, they are so unpretentious. They do not need specific soil and regular watering. With its uncharacteristic character, the marigolds manage to demonstrate the highest decorative qualities, and this for colors, you will agree, is more an exception than a rule. Breeders have worked to fame and today instead of several natural species, the plants are represented in an amazing varietal variety. You can easily find suitable for the color, growth, size of the bowl of flowers, options, and will be able to translate any landscape compositions that your imagination has drawn to you.

But do not rush just to throw the seeds of marigolds in the ground! To all really grow and bite, one “light hand” is not enough. Rely on the case, of course, you can, but still, knowledge about some aspects of growing these representatives of the floral world, will never be superfluous.

Description of the species

Marigolds are representatives of annual plants. They have a fairly powerful, as for a flower, root system and a branched overground part. Sepals are distinguished by a variety of shades. In addition to pure yellow or red petals, the flower bowls can assemble a luxurious shade mix. The absence of the need to create special conditions for life activity and exhausting care make velvetts a priority plant in the design of suburban areas.

Varieties of marigolds

The main species of marigolds are three:

1. Thin-leafed.
2. Rejected.
3. Standing.

Marigolds thin-leafed

They are representatives of a compact category of the species. Their height varies between 20-40 cm. The foliage is fine, but elegantly indented and very dense. Flowers are small, with a bowl diameter of up to 2 cm, but with a variety of colors in the yellow-red spectrum. There are variants with two-colored petals. The view is ideal for decorating curbs and is often found in mixed plantings. Blossom thin-leaved marigolds are extremely abundant, but the beginning of the flowering period is somewhat biased, which allows them to be classified as late flowering.

Marigolds rejected

The most active and vigorous blossoming variety. On the bush there can be up to a hundred buds, the color of which can vary in the yellow-brown spectrum. Flowers large 4-6 cm in diameter. The plant is well bushed. Growth indicators 20-60cm.

This variety is extremely viable, however, it is incredibly thermophilic, so the first frosts will ruin it.

The smallest representatives of deviated marigolds are planted on the slides and as a curb.

Marigolds erect

The most powerful representatives of the species, able to reach a meter height and bloom with simple or double-sided baskets, up to 12 cm in diameter. Their color spectrum:

1. Orange.
2. Yellow.
3. Light brown.

Marigolds blossom erupt at the end of June. The flowering period is extended until late autumn. A pleasant soft aroma makes this variety of marigolds suitable for cutting.

The main place of “residence”:

1. Flowerbeds.
2. Rabatki.
3. Mixborders.

Sow in the soil or grow marigolds seedlings?

Sowing seeds can be in several periods:

1. In March, sending seeds to the box on the home window sill.
2. In the first days of May, having arranged for a seedling a film greenhouse.
3. In the last days of May, immediately into the ground.

In principle, marigolds are rapidly vegetating plants, which allows them to begin to blossom after a month and a half from the moment of sowing. Their unpretentiousness and relative cold resistance does not prevent seeds from sowing directly into the open ground, at the planned site of growth. However, the insidiousness of our climate often plays a cruel joke, returning frosts in late spring. So, it’s better not to risk and prepare a flower sprouts. If you want to grow several varietal varieties of marigolds at the same time, including upright specimens, then sow the seeds of the latter as early as possible, in early March. Low-growth species can be sown and closer to the middle of spring.

Where can I get the seeds?

If you first decided to decorate your country landscape with these magnificent flowers, then for the seeds you will have to go to the store or look for interesting offers on the Internet. You can, of course, “get hold of” them and someone from the neighbors, but then the variety variety and the game of colors will have to be forgotten. Having spent time and having acquired the seeds of marigolds of those species that suit you, you will win twice:

1. Get a beautiful site design.
2. You will have your own seeds for the next season.

How to get sturdy seedlings?

The process is not particularly laborious and you will not tire. If space allows, then plant the seeds on individual cups. This will save you from the subsequent pick-up of grown-up shoots. In other cases, marigolds are sown in bowls or boxes and subsequently, the sprouted seedlings are moved to separate pots.

Planting soil

“The soil must be decontaminated”

To make the seeds feel comfortable, they are preparing a land mixture, which should be mixed in equal parts:

1. Forest land.
2. Peat.
3. Humus.
4. Sand.

The proportions of the components can be slightly changed, the main thing is that the result is an easy, moisture-absorbing and nutritious substrate. There is no desire and time to tinker with the preparation of soil mixture – go to the store. There are always ready-made offers.

The soil must be decontaminated before use, and it does not matter whether you bought it in the package or prepared yourself. The simplest way to do this is to leave the soil for a couple of weeks to freeze on the balcony. You can treat the land with a fungicidal solution or a strong solution of potassium permanganate.

Seeding stage

Variant of sowing of marigolds with subsequent picking

Planting a shift in plastic containers is quite convenient. In the container’s bottom, drainage holes are made and then fill it with moistened soil for about 1 cm. The surface of the soil mixture is leveled and seeds are spread over it. Do not forget about the drainage layer. In its quality in this case can act as ordinary sand.

Such flowers as marigolds are distinguished by excellent germination, so do not try to sow the ground more intensively. Seeds hide under another centimeter (not more!) Layer of soil, then moisturize the surface of the latter with a spraying method. The container is covered with a lid, a piece of glass or a film and sent to a warm place.

Germs will go on for 2-4 days. In the case of old seeds or tightly spread varieties, the process can take up to 8 days.

Emergence of shoots is a signal to remove the film and move the containers to a cooler place. This will slow the growth of the seedlings and prevent them from reaching into the thin blade of grass.

Sprouts of marigolds show miracles of persistence, so you can not care about the organization of a sustainable microclimate for them in terms of humidity. They will not fall and will not wither unless they are in time politely. The first fertilizer sprouts will be required 14 days after transplant, picks or planting, that is, by the time when the nutrient resources of the soil mixture are exhausted.

Time of picking marigolds

Dive marigolds from the moment they appear on them the first pair of real, characteristic for this variety, carved leaves. When picking, the stems are buried in the ground to the cotyledons. In this way, the height of the immature stalk is reduced and the root system is strengthened and powerful (additional root shoots also appear on the pricked part of the stem).

The picking process stimulates the active growth of the flower, which is a consequence of the increase in “personal” land space. To planting in balcony containers or on a flower bed, the seedlings will be ready in 21 days.

Option seeding without picks

Picking is not required if the seeds are planted with a step distance of 6 cm. The guarantee of avoiding picking marigolds will be their landing in personal pallets. Before planting, the seeds can be soaked and wait for their “awakening”. As soon as the sprouts are pierced, the seed is immediately transferred to the ground.

The “incubator” for the seeds is prepared from a wet wipe, which is placed on a saucer. On it seeds are scattered and covered with a film. The planting process starts on the second day. Cups are prepared for the planting period in the same way as large containers.

Nuances of care of seedlings

Among the unpretentious marigolds, one can still distinguish one species, which will require some attention to its content. This is a thin-leaved variety. And, nevertheless, to enjoy the properly chosen temperature regime and adequate watering the marigolds of all sorts will be the same.

Lighting

The seedlings are transferred to a well-lit window sill with the appearance of the first sprouts.

Temperature

Germinate seeds at 25C. The emergence of shoots requires changing the conditions for finding plants, sharply lowering the temperature by 5-7C.

Watering the seedlings

The sown soil is humidified regularly. This is done by spraying its surface, rather than filling it with a watering can. The sprouted seedling on the contrary, it is necessary to water under the root, but try not to overmoisten the soil. The interval of irrigation will be determined by the drying speed of its surface.

We plant marigolds in the ground

“Very often gardeners sow the seeds of marigolds immediately in the country soil”

To transfer seedlings to a flower bed is necessary only very late spring, when the threat of nocturnal frosts passes. Transplanted seedlings must have a strengthened root system and at least three clearly formed leaves on the stem. Ideal for the existence of marigolds is loamy, highly fertile soil with good moisture. If the quality of the composition of the earth leaves much to be desired, then you will have to replenish depleted reserves of minerals and nutrients with additional fertilizing. During the vegetation period, it will have to be carried out several times.

Stepping distance when landing marigolds in the ground is determined in accordance with their type and variety. Representatives of the class erect must be at least 40cm apart. Middle-aged marigolds are planted at an interval of 20 cm, and dwarf species no further than at a distance of 10-15 cm.

Very often gardeners do not bother with growing seedlings, and sow the seeds of marigolds immediately in the country soil. This is usually done in early May. Place of planting is hidden under a film. By the end of the month on the site there will be strong and strong plants, which can be moved anywhere.

You can transplant marigolds at any time in their life. They calmly react to this process and easily restore even the heavily damaged root system.

Subtlety of caring for marigolds

Caring for marigolds is a pleasure, because plants react incredibly to each and every bit of your attention, rewarding for those minimal efforts that you will spend on cultivating their lives, with blossoming blossoms.

– In principle, the marigold will feel good on the site of any intensity of illumination, but the most beautiful bushes will still be on a sunny platform. Well they will be on the western, southern and even eastern balconies. On the northern side and in the dense shadow, their flowering will be noticeably weaker and may prematurely end by September.

– It is important to organize the irrigation regime correctly. Marigolds can be “watered” regularly and even abundantly, on hot days and twice a day. If this is not done, the catastrophe will not happen, because the plants are more than drought-resistant, but their aesthetic appearance will suffer noticeably. The bottom leaves will lose color and wither.

The abundant watering is carried out only until the flowering began. After the appearance of the buds, the amount of moisture supplied is significantly reduced. Overflow will lead to stagnation of water and will provoke development of putrefactive processes in roots and a stalk that will end very sadly.

– The roots of flowers are not against “breathe”, which gives rise to the need to loosen the top layer of soil above them, approximately, every 7 days. You can do this by any convenient tool: a small spatula, cultivator or just a stick. Loosening will help improve the appearance of the marigold in general and spur to active flowering.

– Marigolds do not require top dressing, but if they get it or fertilizers, they will not fail to respond positively to your care. If you decide to feed your flowers, then do it in three stages. For the first time, plants are fertilized when they reach the height of a centimeter. Repeatedly this is produced during the appearance of buds. The end of the cycle is at the beginning of flowering.

Basically, the question of additional fertilizer arises for marigolds growing in conditions of closed ground. The earth in containers and pots is depleted very quickly, which can cause the flowering to stop, so it is better to prevent the situation than to then seek a way out of it.

– Marigolds are pruned. This is done:

• if the bush is too cumbersome;
• if the bush should be given a special shape;
• if the flowering went into decline, which happens in the middle of summer.

Pruning will update the plants and activate the desire to bloom.

– If you want your marigolds to bloom violently without breaks, then give them several minutes a day to remove the discolored inflorescence. Why do you need to do this? The problem is that a seed box will appear on the site of the wilted buds, and the ripening of the seeds will require large resources from the plant, thus a redistribution of forces will take place and the number of colors will decrease noticeably.

– The only situation when it will be necessary to look after the marigolds, can occur in a too rainy summer. Excessive dampness stimulates the reproduction of snails and slugs, which with pleasure will pull out the juices from fragrant flowers. Scare off pests can smell the bleach, jars with which you need to arrange in the flower garden and do not forget to regularly change their contents. It will be necessary and frequent loosening of flower beds, so that the root system of the growing marigolds is well ventilated.

Protection against pests

Planting marigolds can suffer not only from slug attacks, but also from the defeat of gray rot. The latter can in a matter of days deprive you of a splendid discount. The fight against this disease must be conducted only by radical methods. All affected shrubs are subject to immediate uprooting followed by destruction in the fire. Do not be lazy to burn sick specimens. If you throw them simply into the compost pile, then there is a danger of spreading the infection to other garden and vegetable plots, and you will lose not only the flower beds, but also the harvest.

With the arrival of the summer drought, a new enemy, a spider mite, appears in the flowerbeds of the marigolds. To prevent infection, regular spraying with water will help plants, which will help regulate humidity in microclimate conditions of the flower bed. If the moment is lost, and the parasite has already spread its web in the foliage of flowers, sprinkle the plant with yarrow, onion and hot pepper.

Marigolds are not just flowers

Few people know that the marigolds in the garden area are not only a decorative mission. This flower with its peculiar smell can scare away a variety of garden pests. In addition, the phytoncides produced by the plant contribute to the disinfection of the soil adjacent to the bush. This should be the reason to plant the marigolds not only on the sites assigned to flower beds, but also between vegetable beds, and also to plant strawberry plantations.

Conclusion

As you can see, nothing supernatural in growing marigolds, however, as well as in caring for them, is not necessary. Add here their aesthetics, with practical use, and you will understand that a better option for designing a landscape design of a country site can not really be found.

Photogallery – marigolds:

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Author: Daria Degtyareva

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