SCIENTIFIC NAME: Tagetes erecta

COMMON NAME: African marigold

FAMILY: Asteraceae (Compositae)

TYPE: annual

LEAVES: opposite, 5"-6" long, pinnately divided into lanceolate segments with serrate margins, aromatic (unpleasant odor for many people)

FLOWER: semidouble to double, 2"-5" across, orange or yellow; African marigold flowers best under short days

SEASON OF BLOOM: spring to mid-summer, declining thereafter

GROWTH HABIT: 1' to 4', erect to rounded

SOIL: moist, well drained, infertile (high fertility encourages vegetative growth and reduced flowering)

SUN: full sun to part shade, extreme heat reduces flowering

UTILIZATION: bedding and edging, cut flowers; cultivar selection is important for heat, pest, and disease tolerance; however, no cultivar will provide good color without high maintenance--use for spring color or plant in late summer for fall color until frost or substitute Melampodium paludosum or Zinnia angustifolia

DISEASES: Botrytis--deadheading is necessary

INSECTS AND RELATED PESTS: spider mites common, leafhoppers, slugs

PROPAGATION: seed

MAINTENANCE: deadheading essential to improve appearance and reduce disease problems

CULTIVARS: Excel, Inca (12-16" semi-dwarf); Voyager (14-18"); Perfection (18-24")