Beautiful Marigolds
by Michelle Meenawong
Title
Beautiful Marigolds
Artist
Michelle Meenawong
Medium
Photograph - Metal Print
Description
Tagetes patula, the French marigold, is a specie of flowering plant in the daisy family, native to Mexico and Guatemala with several naturalised populations in many other countries. It is widely cultivated as an easily grown bedding plant, with thousands of different cultivars in brilliant shades of yellow and orange.
Some authorities regard Tagetes patula as a synonym of Tagetes erecta.
The Latin specific epithet patula means “with a spreading habit”.
The flower is an annual, occasionally reaching 0.5 m (1.6 ft) tall by 0.3 m (1.0 ft) wide. In some climates it flowers from July to October. In its native habitat of the highlands of central Mexico, blooms are produced from September to killing frost. Achenes ripen and are shed within two weeks of the start of bloom. The heads contain mostly hermaphrodite (having both male and female organs) florets and are pollinated primarily by beetles in the wild, as well as by tachinid flies and other insects. The leaves of all species of marigold include oil glands. The oils are pungent. It can grow in both sandy and clay soils provided they have good drainage. It requires growing in sunlight. Resists cold well to -1°C; from there it is sensitive to frost and does not develop in the shade.
The plant is used in companion planting for many vegetable crops. Its root secretions are believed to kill nematodes in the soil and it is said to repel harmful insects, such as white flies on tomatoes.
A very grateful thank you to the following groups for featuring this picture
GLOBAL FLOWERS PHOTOGRAPHY
11/25/2019
ONLY BLOOMS AND FLOWERS PHOTOGRAPHY
03/01/2021
10 PLUS
11/17/2021
FLOWERS FLORA BLOSSOMS
12/12/2021
Uploaded
November 4th, 2019
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