Green Grass Grove
Connecting specimen records, habitat data, and the living archive.
French Marigold
Tagetes patulaFrench Marigold (Tagetes patula) is an Asteraceae profile documenting accepted identity, ecology, cultivation, propagation, safety, legal boundaries, and North Florida relevance.
Botanical Overview
French Marigold (Tagetes patula) is an Asteraceae profile documenting accepted identity, ecology, cultivation, propagation, safety, legal boundaries, and North Florida relevance.
Ethnobotanical, Bioactive & Cultural Documentation
Bedding, edging, containers, pollinator support, cultivar research, and nematode-suppression studies.
Entheogenic documentation source note: not applicable
Long ornamental and ethnobotanical history; no therapeutic claim is made.
Contains carotenoids and aromatic thiophenes; concentrations vary by tissue and cultivar.
Authoritative source ledger: WFO-T-PATULA, POWO-T-PATULA-CONFLICT, USDA-T-PATULA, CLEMSON-MARIGOLDS. Claims are bounded to the cited fields and do not authorize medical, pesticide, or commercial use.
Ordinary cultivation is generally lawful. Taxonomic authority conflict must remain documented.
Why We Feature This Specimen
French Marigold connects taxonomy, cultivation, ecological function, and safe specimen stewardship inside 3G-GroveOS.
Climate & Protection
Cold protection trigger: Begin cold protection below 40 °F. The cold-damage threshold is the lower temperature where injury becomes likely, not the recommended waiting point.
Heat protection trigger: Begin shade, cooling, irrigation, airflow, or relocation measures above 95 °F. The heat-damage threshold is the higher temperature where injury becomes likely.
Sun / Light: Full sun; light afternoon shade can reduce summer stress.
Warm-season; flowering can slow in extreme heat.
Greenhouse threshold guidance: Protect below 40°F.
Planting & Seasonal Guide
Starting & Germination Methods
Seed Sowing
Seed sowing is the umbrella operational method for placing botanical seed into a germination environment. It includes selection of containers or beds, medium, depth, spacing, moisture, temperature, light,…
Open Full Method ↗Indoor Seed Starting
Indoor seed starting produces transplants in containers under managed temperature, light, moisture, sanitation, and spacing before outdoor or greenhouse establishment. It extends the production season, protects valuable seed,…
Open Full Method ↗Direct Seed
Direct Seed is retained as a legacy identity for placing seed directly into its final production container, bed, plug position, restoration cell, or growing location without first raising…
Open Full Method ↗Sow or transplant after frost; North Florida spring and fall are often strongest flowering periods.
Spacing: 15–30 cm
Planting Depth: 6 mm or lightly covered.
Pollination: Insect-pollinated; doubles vary in fertility.
Water, Soil & Nutrition
💧 Water & Moisture
Moderate; avoid chronic wetness.
Moderate.
Tolerates humidity with airflow and sanitation.
🌱 Soil & Growing Media
Preferred pH: 5.80 to 7.20
↘ Drainage & Root-Zone Behavior
✦ Nutrition & Deficiency Checks
Moderate fertility; avoid excess nitrogen.
Diagnose pH, drainage, root health, and nutrient history before correcting chlorosis or weak growth.
Growth, Maintenance & Harvest
Maintenance & Pruning
Pinch and deadhead for compactness and continued bloom.
Harvest or Observation
Harvest flowers for display only unless a cultivar-specific food use is verified.
Storage & Preservation
Store dry seed cool and dry.
Propagation, Cloning & Tissue Culture
Propagation Methods
Direct Sowing
Direct sowing is the establishment of plants by sowing seed outdoors or into the final production bed rather than transplanting nursery-grown seedlings. It is a complete site operation…
Open Full Method ↗Seed
Seed is retained as an umbrella propagation identity for sexual reproduction through mature botanical seed. A seed normally contains an embryo, stored reserves or nutritive tissue, and protective…
Open Full Method ↗Transplant
Transplant is a nursery handling process that moves an established seedling, rooted cutting, division, grafted plant, or tissue-culture plantlet from one container or site to another. It is…
Open Full Method ↗Profile-Specific Procedure
Preserve true-to-name labels, use clean tools, and quarantine vegetatively propagated material.
Tissue Culture & Laboratory Notes
Not routinely required; specialist laboratory propagation is accession dependent.
Aquaponics, Hydroponics & Aeroponics
Aquaponics
No profile-specific aquaponic production protocol verified.
Hydroponics
- Target pH5.8–6.5
- Target EC1.2–2.0 mS/cm
No validated profile-specific hydroponic protocol.
Aeroponics
Technically feasible, but limited practical advantage exists over simpler container or hydroponic systems.
Pests, Diseases, Safety & Toxicology
Spider mites, thrips, aphids, leafminers, and caterpillars.
Botrytis, Alternaria leaf spot, bacterial leaf spot, damping-off, and root rots.
Use full sun, drainage, deadheading, and sanitation; retain cultivar labels.
Primary risks: Botrytis, Alternaria leaf spot, bacterial leaf spot, damping-off, and root rots. Use full sun, drainage, deadheading, and sanitation; retain cultivar labels.
Foliage and sap may cause contact irritation. Edibility and chemistry are cultivar and use dependent.
Confirm identity, provenance, pesticide history, intended use, and jurisdictional restrictions. Keep concentrated preparations and unsupported medicinal claims outside this profile.