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Simply Grown Flowers for Gardens and Greenhouses
Marigolds (Tagetes ) are annuals of nice ornamental worth through the summer time and autumn months. They’re natives of Mexico and South America and belong to the Daisy household, Compositae. The identify is claimed to have been derived from a mythological deity, Tages. These Marigolds are fairly distinct from the Pot Marigold or Calendula.
The 2 chief sorts of Tagetes are the African Marigold, Tagetes erecta, and the French Marigold, Tagetes patula. The previous reaches a top of 2-4 ft. and bears giant, single or double flowers of orange or yellow coloring; the latter grows from 9 in. to 2 ft. excessive and the flowers are yellow, or yellow marked with reddish-brown. In recent times hybrids between the African and French varieties have been developed. As well as, two different species of Tagetes are grown in gardens, Tagetes lucida, the Candy-scented Marigold, and Tagetes tenuifolia (signata).
The African Marigolds are represented by quite a few good-looking double varieties which bear giant, rounded flowers in orange and numerous shades of yellow, on sturdy stems. They’re extraordinarily helpful in backyard beds and borders through the summer time months. A lot effort has been spent in making an attempt to develop a white-flowered selection and whereas not but profitable some fashionable varieties have pale creamy yellow flowers.
Within the top of crops and type of flowers, there may be appreciable variation, and teams of types are designated in seedsmen’s catalogs as Carnation Flowered and Chrysanthemum Flowered. There are various different varieties with flowers in lots of distinct shapes and kinds, and a few even with odorless foliage. If the crops are effectively grown they’ll final in bloom till reduce down by frost, and supply good lots of shade within the backyard in autumn. They’re helpful as reduce flowers.
When to Sow Seeds
The African Marigolds could also be raised from seeds sown about 6 weeks earlier than the crops are to be planted outdoor, in a greenhouse wherein a temperature of 50-55 levels is maintained. The seeds are sown in pots or flats stuffed with sifted sandy soil; they’re frivolously lined with comparable soil and the containers are lined with glass and shaded from sunshine. If saved moist, the seeds will germinate in a couple of days.
When the seedlings are 1-2 in. excessive, they need to be transplanted to flats 3-4 in. deep, stuffed with a sandy, loamy compost; they’re positioned 3 in. aside. They need to stay within the flats till it’s time to plant them outdoor after hazard of frost has handed and the climate is heat and settled. For 2 or three weeks after transplanting to flats the seedlings must be saved within the greenhouse to help them to turn into established shortly. Subsequently, they’re grown in a chilly body, and because the time for planting attracts close to, they’re hardened off by ventilating the body extra freely, and at last are absolutely uncovered to the air.
It’s also fairly practicable to develop African Marigolds by sowing the seeds within the areas the place the crops are to stay, however the crops obtained by this methodology is not going to bloom fairly so early as these raised underneath glass. The seeds are scattered thinly in a well-prepared seedbed outdoor as quickly as hazard from frost has handed, and the seedlings are thinned out till they don’t seem to be lower than 10 in. aside.
African marigolds have to be chosen in a location absolutely uncovered to the sunshine; they don’t seem to be profitable in shady locations. It’s a mistake to set them in very wealthy soil, or they’ll produce rank, luxuriant progress on the expense of flower manufacturing. They need to be planted 12-15 in. aside.
The French Marigolds
The varieties of those fluctuate in top from 6-24 inches. The taller ones are helpful for grouping in direction of the entrance of flower borders and producing reduce flowers; the very dwarf ones are generally used for edging flower beds. There are each double-flowered and single-flowered varieties.
Among the many dwarfer varieties Naughty Marietta is standard. It has wealthy golden-yellow flowers attractively marked with brownish-red. The one flowers of Crimson Head have a crested middle of yellow and maroon and surrounding petals of mahogany, bronze and gold. Sunny has single, shiny yellow flowers marked with cerise on the bases of the petals. Ruffled Crimson has mahogany-red flowers edged with yellow. All these are single-flowered varieties. Of the dwarf double French Marigolds, among the greatest are Spry, maroon with shiny golden facilities; Tangerine, shiny tangerine-orange; Lemon Drop, clear lemon-yellow; and Yellow Pygmy, with tiny, mild yellow chrysanthemum-like flowers. There are single types of the tall French Marigolds, however these will not be so standard because the dwarf varieties.
French Marigolds require the identical normal cultural care as that detailed for African Marigolds. They could be began in a greenhouse or raised from seeds sown instantly outdoor. If sown instantly outdoor the seedlings germinate shortly, offered they’re saved moist. They have to be thinned out in good time to permit them to develop sturdily.
It’s a mistake to develop these crops in too wealthy a soil, for they’ll make vigorous progress however is not going to bloom very freely. Neither is it smart to plant them wherever besides in full sunshine, for in shade or partial shade they turn into very leafy, and their blossoming is disappointing.
African-French Hybrid Marigolds
A race of hybrids between the African and French Marigolds, raised in America lately, are named Burpee’s Crimson and Gold Hybrids. As but the pressure isn’t fastened and the crops fluctuate within the shade of the flowers they produce. Some are strong crimson, some strong yellow, others numerous mixtures of crimson and golden-yellow. Flower colours fluctuate on the identical crops at completely different intervals through the season. The flowers are double, 2-3 in. in diameter; the crops are bushy and develop about 18 in. tall.
These African-French Hybrid Marigolds require the identical tradition as their dad or mum sorts. They bloom all through the summer time and fall and are good reduce flowers. As a result of the pressure isn’t fastened a couple of true African Marigolds often seem among the many seedlings. Even whereas they’re very small it’s simple to segregate these from the hybrids as a result of the African kind has inexperienced stems whereas these of the hybrids are crimson. The African Marigolds usually develop taller than the hybrids and must be planted individually.
Different Sorts of Tagetes
A Tagetes of very distinct look and of nice appeal and usefulness is T. tenuifolia (signata) pumila. In recent times this has been listed underneath the identify of Dwarf Signet Marigold. It’s a native of Mexico and kinds a broad, bushy plant 1 ft. or much less tall. It has finely divided foliage and bears a mess of single, golden-orange flowers about 1 in. in diameter, every with however few ray florets.
Tagetes tenuifolia selection pumila requires the identical cultural care because the dwarf French Marigolds and, like them, is a splendid topic for planting in teams on the fronts of borders, for bedding and for setting out as edgings to flower beds.
The Candy-scented Marigold, Tagetes lucida, is a pretty species from Mexico that doesn’t look like very a lot cultivated. It grows about 1 ft. tall, has aromatic foliage and carries its golden or orange-yellow flowers in dense terminal clusters. It requires the identical cultural care as the opposite sorts.
In Greenhouses
Every kind of Tagetes are helpful crops for rising in greenhouses for winter and spring show. They’re elegant pot crops and are additionally helpful as reduce flowers. Some seedmen provide particular winter-flowering varieties that bloom freely even when days are brief and light-weight is much less intense than in the summertime.
Among the best of those is named Lieb’s Winter Flowering.
For winter bloom, the seeds must be sown in August or September; for spring bloom, sow them in January. The seedlings must be transplanted to flats, or individually to small pots, and later potted in bigger receptacles as wanted. Pots measuring 5-7 in. in diameter are passable sizes wherein to let the crops flower. Good outcomes could also be had by rising both one or three crops in every pot.
The soil for Tagetes grown in greenhouses shouldn’t be overrich however well-drained. When the crops have stuffed their last pots with roots, weekly purposes of dilute liquid fertilizer will likely be very helpful.
Always these crops have to be uncovered to full solar and must be supplied with ethereal, relatively cool circumstances. An evening temperature of fifty levels is ample; on uninteresting days the temperature might rise about 5 levels and on sunny days 10 and even 15 levels.
By supplementing daylight with synthetic mild (both of the fluorescent or incandescent variety) earlier and extra flowers will be obtained from Tagetes grown in greenhouses in winter.
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