With a growth height of up to eighty centimeters and the orange-red flower heads that shine from afar, the marigold is one of the most popular ornamental flowers in the garden. Unfortunately, the most beautiful garden summer comes to an end at some point and winter is approaching.
Marigolds don't like frost and snow at all
The marigold is not hardy
The wild forms of the marigolds thrive on the hot slopes of South America, where temperatures never fall below freezing, even during the cold season. That is why most of the hybrids cultivated in our gardens are not frost-resistant and are cultivated as annual garden plants. However, since the marigold is perennial, you can keep particularly beautiful specimens indoors during the winter.
Wintering of the marigolds
It is important to bring the plant into the house in good time. If this is already damaged by the frost, it unfortunately often dies. Carefully dig up the marigold and plant it in a pot filled with potting soil.
Place it in a bright, frost-free but not too warm room. Temperatures between 15 and 20 degrees are ideal. Since the tagetes hibernate, the marigold should be watered sparingly and not fertilized.
More promising: breeding from seeds
Since marigolds form many easily germinating seeds, it is easier to grow the pretty flowering plant yourself every year and transplant it into the garden after the ice saints. The marigold often even self-seeds and germinates without further action, so that you will find many small marigold plants in the bed the following spring.
harvest seeds
It is important not to cut off everything that has faded, so that the seeds can ripen in the flower heads. When the flowers have dried, they are carefully snapped off and left to dry completely on a piece of kitchen paper. If you only need a small amount of seed, you can pull the grains out of the pods one by one. If the need is higher, this work is quite troublesome.
In this case, fill the dried flowers in a plastic bag, inflate it slightly and seal it. Shake vigorously to loosen the seeds from the inflorescences. Now pour everything into a sieve with holes that are too small. The seeds fall through the holes and can now be stored, well packed in paper bags, until next summer.
tips
Marigolds aren't just pretty to look at. At the same time, they serve to improve the soil, as they kill harmful nematodes in an ecological way.