What Is the Price of Marigolds? A Detailed Guide to Growing Them
Marigold is also known as stinking sultan, marigold lamp, honeycomb chrysanthemum, and so on. It is an annual herbaceous plant of the genus Tagetes in the Asteraceae family, with large flowers and a long blooming period. It is often used to decorate flowerbeds and plazas, to arrange flower clusters and flower borders, and to grow flower hedges. Medium and dwarf varieties are suitable as materials for flowerbeds, flower paths, and flower clusters, and can also be grown as potted plants. Now let us take a look at how much a marigold plant costs!
How much does a marigold plant cost?
The price of marigolds is very cheap, generally around a few tenths of a yuan per plant, and potted plants cost only around ten yuan or so, while dried marigold flowers cost 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 reducing fever, and dispelling wind and resolving phlegm. The flowers can also serve as a production raw material for food additives.
What value do marigolds have?
1. Ornamental: Marigolds have large flowers and a long blooming period, and are often used to decorate flowerbeds, plazas, and flower borders, and to grow flower hedges. Medium and dwarf varieties are suitable as materials for flowerbeds, flower paths, and flower clusters, and can also be grown as potted plants.
2. Edible: Marigold flowers are a famous dish in floral cuisine. Wash fresh marigold petals, dry them, then coat them in flour and deep-fry them; their fragrance will make your mouth water.
3. Environmental: 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: The flowers of marigold 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 nail-like sores.
Marigold Propagation Methods
1. Sowing: For spring sowing, marigolds are sown in open-field seedbeds from late March to early April. After sowing, cover with soil and water. The suitable temperature for seed germination is 20-25°C, and seedlings emerge 1 week after sowing. In production, summer sowing can also be used to control plant height; after emergence from summer sowing, they can bloom 60 days later.
2. Cuttings: In summer, cut 8-12 cm tender shoots from the mother plant as cuttings, remove the lower leaves, and insert them into potting soil. After inserting, water thoroughly and provide slight shade; 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 marigolds, it is advisable to choose a plot with no waterlogging, convenient drainage and irrigation, sunny exposure, and relatively high organic matter content. Combined with land preparation, apply 30 cubic meters of organic fertilizer, 300 kg of diammonium phosphate, and 100 kg of potassium fertilizer per hectare. Generally, transplanting begins on May 20 and ends before May 28.
2. Transplanting technique: One day before transplanting marigolds, water thoroughly to make it easier to lift the seedlings. Use a 65-70 cm ridge, dig holes, and plant 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 marigolds are planted in sunny, loose, and fertile soil, there is no need to apply much fertilizer after planting. If the soil is poor, spray the leaves 2-3 times with 0.3% urea solution during peak growing periods such as the bud and flowering stages. Apart from watering when it is especially dry in summer, generally no watering is needed.
4. Shaping and pruning: Removing side buds at the seedling stage of marigolds helps the terminal buds grow. In summer, plants tend to grow excessively, so prune promptly to control height. At the same time, because the blooming 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 removed promptly.
5. Pest control: Marigold pests include mole crickets, white grubs, red spider mites, aphids, and so on. For mole crickets and white grubs, apply 0.75-1 kg per mu of 3% carbofuran or 5% phorate granules into the soil in combination with transplanting. For red spider mites and aphids, use 1.8% abamectin and Sukeibi for control.
6. Disease control: Marigold diseases mainly include damping-off, leaf spot, and root rot. Adhere to the principle of giving priority to prevention and emphasizing treatment, and control diseases at the right time. In particular, apply a fungicide once at the bud stage (before blooming).
7. Timely harvesting: The standard for the marigold harvest period is when the petals are fully expanded, and the stamens are partly open or not open. Yield is relatively high when they reach 80-90% maturity. At harvest, the flowers should have no water droplets and no mold or rot, and the flower stalk length should not exceed 1 cm. After harvesting, send them immediately to the flower factory.