Many people consider marigolds to be the most ordinary, simple flower that grows everywhere, both in city flowerbeds and in village front gardens; indeed, what dacha would be complete without marigolds?
I absolutely love them and plant different varieties of marigolds every year.
I grow them from seedlings, sometimes sowing seeds indoors, but lately I've been growing all the annual seedlings in a greenhouse. Around April 10, I fill containers with garden soil, make furrows, water them with a weak solution of potassium permanganate, and sow the seeds. I cover the container with a covering material. The seeds germinate quickly and the seedlings grow vigorously. At the end of May, I plant the flowers outdoors.
I grow marigolds of various colors—yellow, lemon, orange, variegated. Large-flowered and small-flowered, with single petals and double, pom-pom-shaped ones. Tall and short. But they are all beautiful, striking with their bright, rich colors. Like little suns, they illuminate the garden.
Marigolds are easy to care for and grow anywhere—in shade and full sun, in open ground and in pots, boxes, and flowerpots. They're pest-free and disease-free. Although I've heard from many gardeners that marigolds are often attacked by spider mites and slugs, I've never encountered any such problems. These flowers never give me any trouble.
Marigolds themselves are very beneficial to other plants, repelling many insect pests with their scent - cabbage white butterfly, whitefly, nematode, Colorado potato beetle, improving the structure of the soil, disinfecting it.
When planting seedlings in open ground, I always add a handful of humus and a little ash to the hole, water it with a weak solution of potassium permanganate or phytosporin, and throughout the gardening season, I don't fertilize them any further; I only water, loosen the soil, and pick off faded flower buds. If I need to harvest my own seeds, I leave a few dried flower buds until fall.
My marigolds bloom profusely all summer long until the frosts. One of my favorite varieties, Little Hero, is a mix of low-growing, double, multicolored marigolds.
I really liked another variety, or rather the hybrid Taishan F-1, the flowers are large and lemon-colored, and the bush itself is low, completely covered with huge lemon balls.
The Gypsy Sunshine variety is also one of my favorites; its compact bush is completely covered with bright lemon-colored double flowers that bloom profusely until the frost.
I also like thin-leaved marigolds.
This year I bought two varieties: Karina, orange, and Jam, lemon-colored.
I will also plant one more variety, Alaska, with large, creamy-yellow flowers.
I can't wait for the summer season to start.
Marigolds also have medicinal properties, especially their orange flowers. Infusions of the flowers are used to treat the pancreas, improve liver function, reduce arthritis pain, and strengthen blood vessel walls.
Plant marigolds in your garden, they are not only beautiful, but also useful.