Are Marigolds Perennials? Amazing Flower Bloom Facts For Kids!

Flowers are more than just the reproductive structures found in plants.

If you have a beautiful garden and want flowers that can add all the elegance to it, what better than flowers that will never die? Read this article to find out if Marigolds are really perennials and if you should plant them!

While Marigolds are some of the most beautiful flowers out there, doesn't it sound magical for these perfect flowers to grow back every year!

Starting off with perennial, perennial things are the ones that happen often or for a long time. Any plant that lives for two or more years becomes a perennial plant.

Perennial flowers live for more than a year. These plants, and flowers, grow in the spring and summer seasons, die in autumn and winter, and come back to life again in the next spring. Annual flowers, unlike the perennial ones, sow, grow up, bear seeds, all in the same year, often in the same season.

Do you often wonder if marigold flowers are perennials? Well, the answer is yes and no, both. Some French marigolds are perennials while other marigold flowers are annuals. French marigolds self-seed so the marigold flower may appear to be a perennial when in reality, the French marigolds are just coming back from seed.

After you are done reading about marigold flowers, do check how do trees grow and how do plants grow?

Do marigolds come back every year?

Perennial plants are mainly of three types: herbaceous, woody, and evergreen. The herbaceous perennial plants are the ones that have leaves and stems that die to the ground at the end of one season.

These show only primary growth after being planted. The woody perennial plants are the plants that have persistent stems above the ground that survive more than one growing season, showing primary and secondary growth. They can also show growth in width protected by an outer cortex.

The last type, though less common than the other two, are plants that have persistent foliage. Known as the evergreen ones, these don’t have woody stems.

Marigolds, or tagates, come under the umbrella of herbaceous perennial plants from the ones discussed above, and it is a genus of both annual and perennial plants, mostly herbaceous.

Named as marigolds tagetes by Carl Linnaeus in 1753, this plant is more commonly known as marigold.

Marigolds have five petals with rounded tips and also have many pistils and stamens. These yellow, sun-worshipping flowers are one of the most suitable flowers you can plant in your garden and not only because of the beautiful hue it brings of yellow, orange, and gold but also because it repels tiny worms.

Although marigolds grow from mid-summer to winter, that is their growing season, many species of marigolds have the ability to grow in the winter season as well if you prepare them adequately for the same.

If a flower adds unmeasurable beauty to your garden and keeps away things that can mess with your garden, what other reason do you need to add them to your flower collection?

It becomes rather confusing for people when it is mentioned that marigolds are both annual and perennial. To talk about it, there are almost 50 species of these yellow flowers that can be found and some of them are annual, while the rest of them become perennial ones.

The most common type of marigolds that are found commonly in gardens are annual ones, that is, they complete a single life cycle in one season and die.

But does that mean that that is how long their life was supposed to be? Many annual marigolds are mistaken to be perennial ones due to their ability to self-seed or self-sow.

If you don’t do the practice of deadheading to keep your garden beautiful, you will most certainly see marigolds in your garden next year, grown by their own abilities. Most flowers produce seeds and just like them, marigolds do too.

If you collect those seeds and sow them in your garden yourself, you will have pretty yellow flowers in the next season.

You can also grow marigolds from the cuttings by planting the cuttings in the soil and providing the marigold plant with adequate conditions like fertile soil and enough sunlight.

But if you want to leave it to nature, that might also work out for you. When those seeds fall on the ground and receive favorable conditions like soil, water, and enough sunlight, your annual marigolds will seem like perennials to you and you will fall in the trap as many others do.

Marigolds have the power to spread themselves and that makes them the most suitable ones to plant.

Before moving further, what will help us to understand better is to discuss the types of marigolds that exist.

As mentioned before, more than 50 species of marigolds exist, and although discussing all of them is a pickle, discussing the major ones is the important thing at hand.

As there are both annual and perennial types of marigolds, the important types of annuals are marigolds tagetes erecta, that is the African marigold, the marigolds Tagetes patula, that is the french marigold, and the tagetes tenuifolia, that is the Signet marigold.

Among the perennials, the three major types are the tagetes Lucida, that is the Mexican tarragon, and the tagetes lemmonii and tagetes Palmeri which are lemmon’s marigold and mountain marigold respectively.

Tagetes erecta: Marigolds tagetes erecta, Mexican Marigold, or the African marigold, is a type of marigold that is native to Mexico and is referred to as Mexican marigold. It is less commonly known that Tagetes erecta, commonly known as the African marigold, is traditionally Mexico’s and is used by many tribes in Mexico for various celebrations.

At 1-3 ft (30-90 cm) tall and 1-2 ft (30-60cm) wide, these marigolds are the most commonly found annuals. Some of these marigolds are also found in South America.

Tagetes patula: Tagetes patula, or french marigold, is a type of annual marigold that is 6-12 in (15-30cm) tall and 6-10 in (5-25cm) wide, nothing compared to its cousin marigold, the African marigold. The type of marigold that grows best in well-drained soil and has beautiful shades, the french marigold is a low-maintenance flower, suited perfectly for your garden.

Tagetes tenuifolia: Tagetes tenuifolia, or the signet marigold, is a type of marigold which lives and dies in a single season as signet marigolds are annuals. This is a marigold that belongs to the daisy family and is included in the category of wild marigolds.

Signet marigolds grow up to be 1.8 ft (50 cm) tall and are most commonly found in Mexico and Central America. This annual herb usually has foliage of blue or green color.

Tagetes lucida: Tagetes lucida, or the Mexican tarragon, is a perennial marigold. A bright yellow marigold that is native to Mexico and Central America, this flower is highly beneficial as other than adding beauty, it is a plant with medicinal properties, and is also a culinary herb.

It is known as Mexican tarragon as it has entered the nursery trade in America as a substitute for tarragon. It is a Mexican marigold.

Tagetes lemmonii: Tagetes lemmonii, or lemmon’s marigold, is another type of heartwarming perennial marigold. It is also referred to as one of the mountain marigold plants by some. It is a shrubby marigold coming from the daisy family. These flowers need full sun, like almost every marigold, to grow flawlessly.

Tagetes palmeri: Tagetes palmeri, or the mountain marigold, a perennial flower, is a marigold that has a seasonality of being semi-evergreen and grows up to 3 ft (90 cm) tall and 3 ft (90 cm) wide. It has deeply divided, fern-like leaves and is commonly found in Mexico and Central America.

Most Suitable Places To Plant Marigolds

When you decorate your garden with flowers, you need to take care of the flowers before and after you’ve helped them grow. Marigolds are quite easy to grow, but you still need to know the best place to plant them. Two factors that you need to remember before you plant marigolds while gardening is: soil and sun.

The type of soil that you grow your marigold plants in is important as a plant gets all its nutrients from the soil.

Marigolds are one of the best flowers you can plan to plant while gardening as they won’t throw many tantrums. These beautiful, bright yellow flowers have the capacity to grow in any type of soil, but the best type of soil for marigolds is the one that is decently cultivated and is moderately fertile.

That type of soil will help it to grow the fastest and in its best form.

Marigolds are the type of flowers that will not create many barriers for their growth, but it's best to provide your plants with the best types of resources for them to have no space to disappoint you.

Marigolds are the children of the sun, and they grow best in bright sun rays. A bright atmosphere is the best type for most plants and for marigolds as well, they won't grow well in shade but try providing them the required sunlight, and they will fill your garden with happiness.

Full sun location is something that will definitely be on the plus side for your marigolds.

Which marigolds are perennials?

There are almost 50 species of marigolds on Earth and many of them are perennials.

The perennial marigolds are the ones that live through many life cycles, unlike the annuals which die in one season. Although there are various types of perennial marigolds, the most common and the most significant ones are lemmon marigold, mountain marigold, and Mexican tarragon.

It’s wise not to confuse Mexican tarragon with Mexican marigolds as the former is one of the perennials and the latter is an annual one and the most commonly found, also referred to as the African marigold.

Marigolds are also often confused with plants that share the name, like pot marigold and marsh marigold, neither of which is related to the actual marigold.

What flowers can be planted with marigolds?

Marigolds bloom in the prettiest way, making your days better. Planting marigolds in your garden might have been the best decision you made, be it their ability to self-seed to add the much-needed elegance to gardens.

Plants that go with other plants add value to your gardens, and you can plant marigolds with several other plants. Growing marigolds not only keep worms and bugs away but also attract pollinators that are beneficial for reproduction.

While you can easily interplant marigolds with potatoes, tomatoes, zucchini, corn, basil, and peppers, you can consider inter-planting marigolds with several other flowers so the combination will make your garden glamorous.

The flowers that go perfectly with marigolds and make their hue more vibrant are roses, salvia, and allium. While these flowers go with many plants, you should not plant marigolds with plants like beans and cabbage that can end up being bad companions for your flowers.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for are marigolds perennials, then why not take a look at chimpanzee skull: fascinating ape bone facts, or Chinese water dragon habitat!