I skipped my favorite marigolds (the Moonstruck series) and grew only Big Duck marigolds this season instead. But I had forgotten that Big Duck doesn’t start opening until late July or early August. It’s fun to have new plants opening up when the rest are tired, but I think I’m going to add Moonstruck back into the mix because they bloom throughout July when most of the bold-colored zinnias are in their prime.
I will continue to grow Big Duck. The plants reach 24 inches tall even though they are listed as a 15-inch plant, and they bloom so heavily once they really get going that you can barely see the foliage underneath.
Next year I’ll locate them next to Jolt Dianthus and ‘Big Blue’ salvias which also open for the first time in late July and continue blooming into October if we don’t get a killing frost.