Marigold Latest Prices and a Detailed Guide to Growing Methods

Marigold is also known as stinking marigold, marigold lantern, honeycomb chrysanthemum and so on. It is an annual herbaceous plant of the Tagetes genus in the Asteraceae family, with large flowers and a long flowering period, often used to decorate flowerbeds and squares, arrange flower clusters, flower borders and cultivate flower hedges. Medium and dwarf varieties are suitable as flowerbed, flower path and flower cluster material, and can also be grown in pots. Now let us take a look at how much a marigold plant costs!

How much does a marigold plant cost?

The price of marigold is very cheap, generally around a few tenths of a yuan per plant, and the price of a potted plant is only around ten yuan or so, while the price of dried marigold flowers is around 50 yuan per jin. Marigold is native to Mexico and is distributed throughout China. It is a garden ornamental plant that can be used to arrange flowerbeds and flower borders, and can also be used for cut flowers. Its flowers and leaves, when used as medicine, have effects such as calming the liver and relieving heat, and dispelling wind and phlegm, and the flowers can also be used as a production raw material for food additives.

What value does marigold have?

1. Ornamental: Marigold has large flowers and a long flowering period, and is often used to decorate flowerbeds, squares, flower borders and cultivate flower hedges. Medium and dwarf varieties are suitable as flowerbed, flower path and flower cluster material, and can also be grown in pots.

2. Edible: Marigold flowers are a famous dish in flower recipes. Wash fresh marigold petals, dry them, then coat them in flour and deep-fry them; their fragrance will make one's mouth water.

3. Environmental protection: Marigold plants have strong resistance to and absorption of gases such as hydrogen fluoride and sulfur dioxide, and can also attract nematodes in the soil.

4. Medicinal: Marigold flowers have effects such as clearing heat and detoxifying, and resolving phlegm and relieving cough, and can also be used as an aromatic. The roots can detoxify and reduce swelling, and are used for carbuncles, sores and swelling. The leaves are used for conditions such as carbuncles, sores, boils and ding sores.

Propagation methods for marigold

1. Sowing: For spring sowing, marigold is sown in an open-field seedbed from late March to early April. After sowing, cover with soil and water. The suitable temperature for seed germination is 20-25 degrees C, and seedlings emerge 1 week after sowing. In production, summer sowing can also be used to control plant height, and after emergence in summer sowing, plants can bloom 60 days later.

2. Cuttings: In summer, cut 8-12 cm young shoots from the mother plant as cuttings, remove the lower leaves and insert them into the pot soil. After inserting, water thoroughly and provide slight shading. Roots can form after 2 weeks. Then gradually move them to a sunny place for management, and they can bloom after about 1 month.

Marigold growing methods

1. Land preparation and fertilization: For marigold, it is advisable to choose a plot without waterlogging, with convenient drainage and irrigation, facing the sun, and with relatively high organic matter content. Along with land preparation, apply 30 cubic meters of organic fertilizer, 300 kg of diammonium, and 100 kg of potassium fertilizer per hectare. Generally, transplanting begins on May 20 and ends before May 28.

2. Transplanting technique: For marigold, water the bottom water thoroughly one day before transplanting to facilitate lifting the seedlings. Use 65-70 cm, dig holes on the ridge and transplant with water. To prevent underground pests, an appropriate amount of phoxim can be added to the water. The plant spacing is 35-40 cm, and 2600-3000 plants are kept per mu.

3. Fertilizer and water management: If marigold is planted in sunny, loose and fertile soil, there is no need to apply much fertilizer after planting. If the soil is poor, spray 0.3% urea solution on the leaves 2-3 times during the bud and flowering periods and other peak growth periods. Apart from watering during especially dry summer periods, watering is generally not necessary.

4. Shaping and pruning: Removing side buds at the marigold seedling stage helps the terminal buds grow. In summer, plants tend to grow excessively, so prune in time to control height. At the same time, because the flowering period is long, plants tend to lodge in the later growth stage, and branches and leaves tend to wither and age, so overly dense stems and leaves and spent flowers should be thinned out in time.

5. Pest control: Marigold pests include mole crickets, grubs, red spider mites, aphids and so on. For mole crickets and grubs, use 0.75-1 kg per mu of 3% carbofuran or 5% phorate granules and apply them into the soil together with transplanting. For red spider mites and aphids, use 1.8% abamectin and sukeibi for control.

6. Disease control: Marigold diseases are mainly damping-off, leaf spot, root rot and so on. Adhere to the principle of giving priority to prevention and emphasizing treatment, and control diseases at the right time. In particular, a fungicide should be sprayed once at the bud stage (before flowering).

7. Timely harvesting: The harvesting standard for marigold is when the petals are all unfolded and the stamens are partly open or not open. When they reach eight or nine tenths ripe, the yield is relatively high. When harvesting, the flowers should have no water droplets and no rot, and the flower stalk length should not exceed 1 cm. After harvesting, send them immediately to the flower factory.