Until last summer it had been years since I grew any large-flowering marigolds. Japanese Beetles loooove the big, fluffy blooms and munch on the petals until there’s nothing left but a flower stem.
I planted some test marigolds last summer when the Japanese Beetle’s numbers appeared to be waning. The beetles that did arrive were more interested in my roses. I took that as a good sign, and this year I planted even more marigolds.
I forgot what a joy they are to grow. They can handle just about any kind of weather that’s thrown at them, and except for the really tall varieties that can get floppy in a heavy rain, most don’t need any sort of staking or trimming. Just deadhead the spent blossoms and they’re happy.
I wish I had planted more ‘Moonstruck Yellow’ marigolds because they are gorgeous and the blooms are huge—up to 4.5 inches across and several inches deep. Those flowers pop up really close to one another and start crowding out the foliage. I’ve never seen a marigold with such an interesting growing habit before.
The bright-gold color really livens up the flowerbed.
‘Moonstruck Yellow’ is supposed to grow 12 to 15 inches tall. My plants are 17 inches tall and they are thriving in partial-shade.
I started my plants inside from seed about 6 weeks before I planted them outside in the garden. They started blooming very shortly after that, so I’m sure you could sow seeds outside and still enjoy plenty of the beautiful, bright flowers before frost.
Next year I’m going to plant some of them in each of my flowerbeds for a guaranteed burst of summer-long color.