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| Photo Credit: Bodger Seeds |
| Tall marigolds have huge blooms, many 3-5 inches across! |
Tall marigolds – they’re a true gift to the garden! Chances are you’ve seen them in gorgeous mass plantings here and there, but maybe not at your local nursery or garden center. Why? Because it’s not easy to get these beauties to flower in those little six packs – and it’s those blooms that sell the flowers!
If you can find them, scoop a few up for your garden! Tall marigolds (also known as African marigolds or Tagetes erecta) are some of the most strikingly beautiful flowers around. They’ll give you a great display in your garden, as well as fantastic, long-lasting bouquets. Can’t locate any in your neck of the woods? Don’t worry. You can start them yourself from seed (and watch your neighbors cry out in envy when those luscious tall beauties begin to bloom). I’ve actually had passersby spot these lovely annuals blooming in a front flower bed and stop to ask me what they were! | Add Photo to Journal |  | | Photo Credit: Gerald Burke | | Plant your dwarf marigolds in front of your tall ones for a stunning garden display! |
The good news is the seeds aren’t hard to start, and you can find them in a just about any garden center or supermarket. (You can also look online and in a variety of seed catalogs to find different colors.) Which tall marigolds are the best? Well, it probably depends on your personal preferences, but here are a few of my favorites:
The Lady Hybrid Series from Burpee was a real breakthrough when it first arrived on the market years ago, and these marigolds are still superlative. They offer blooms in orange, yellow, gold and primrose. (Orange Lady is my favorite.) These Ladies are tall, upright marigolds that reach 18-24 inches tall with blooms that measure 3-4 inches across! Antigua Hybrids are a little shorter, coming in around 13-16 inches tall, but these quick-growing, quick-blooming beauties have got sturdy stems and flowers that reach 3 inches or more across! You’ll usually find seed packets sold as a mixture on seed racks, but you can find them online in separate colors, including gold, primrose, orange and yellow.
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