I’ve been avoiding African marigolds for almost a decade now. The Japanese Beetles ate the blossoms faster than I could enjoy them, so I gave up. Over the last couple of summers the beetle population finally leveled off and started to drop a bit, so I’ve decided to slowly add marigolds back into my flowerbeds. I’ve missed marigolds. They are so easy to grow and give you months of color for very little work.
Last summer I tried ‘Taishan Yellow’. This cultivar is known for its sturdiness—in fact its name means “stability.”
‘Taishan Yellow’ was featured in plantings at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Cornell University trialed this cultivar the following year. The plants started out very strong but there were a few hiccups for a few weeks each in mid-July and late-August when they reported a lack of flower coverage and many “ugly spent blooms.” By September they were reporting impressive results once again.
I didn’t have the same roller-coaster experience, but I wasn’t as laser-focused as you have to be during a trial. My plants bloomed steadily throughout the summer and I didn’t have to do any extra deadheading to keep them tidy, but then again I was only growing 6 plants.
I was impressed by ‘Taishan Yellow’. The foliage stayed dark-green and healthy throughout the summer, and the plant stems were as sturdy as advertised.’Taishan Yellow’ grows 10 to 12 inches tall with large primrose-yellow flowers that shed water so the blooms don’t get floppy after a rain storm.
I would definitely grow this cultivar again.