Key Points
Marigolds are tender annuals and are not frost-tolerant.You can protect marigolds from short cold snaps, but hard frosts will kill them.Saving seeds and preparing your garden are the best ways to prepare for next year.
Marigolds are a staple in many home landscapes, bringing a pop of color to any home garden. Beyond their beauty, though, marigolds are also commonly used for their natural pest-repelling properties in vegetable and flower gardens. They are known for being low-maintenance and easy to grow, but should you do anything to help these blooming plants prepare for winter? Can you protect your marigolds from the impending frosts ahead? We asked three gardening experts, and they all agreed—there is one step you can take now to ensure better blooms next year.
Meet the Expert
Grant Minkhorst is a garden consultant and social media content creator in Toronto, Canada.
Anna Ohler is the owner of Bright Lane Gardens, a boutique plant nursery located in Lake Ann, Michigan.
Troy Hake is a garden and landscape expert and the owner and founder of Outsidepride, an online seed company based in the Willamette Valley, Oregon.
Will Your Marigolds Survive the Winter?
Marigolds (Tagetes) are tender annuals, meaning they complete their life cycle within one growing season and are not frost-tolerant. Because marigold plants cannot survive the winter, the first hard frost signals the end of their growing season, says Grant Minkhorst, a garden consultant and social media content creator. While some cultivars are known for being slightly more cold-resistant, ultimately, marigolds will need to be replanted each spring after freezing winters.
In climates with mild winters (zones 9 to 11), marigolds may successfully reseed and germinate on their own the following spring, Minkhorst says. In colder regions (zones 2 to 8), seeds that are dropped will not survive the freezing winter temperatures; you’ll need to start your marigolds from seed indoors and transplant them outside after the threat of frost has passed.
How to Protect Marigolds From Frost
Sometimes, an unexpectedly early (or late) one-off frost can wipe out a garden, taunting you with weeks of warm weather beforehand—or afterward. In the case of a surprise frost, there are a few ways you can temporarily protect your marigolds and prolong their growing season, says Anna Ohler, owner at Bright Lane Gardens.
First, covering plants with a frost cloth, an old sheet, or a row cover before sunset can help protect tender marigolds during chilly nights, she says. Ensure the fabric is positioned so that it’s not touching the flowers to prevent damage. Using stakes or hoops to hold the fabric above the plants is key.
Marigolds growing in pots can be moved to a covered location or indoors to protect from frost. Unheated garages, sun rooms, or basements are great options if you can’t bring large plants in the house, or you can even position the pots snugly up against a south-facing wall for extra warmth, Ohler says.
In addition to these protective measures, you can also ensure that you water your marigolds the day before a freeze, as moist soil holds heat better than dry soil. Ohler warns against fertilizing your plants in the fall, as new growth is particularly susceptible to frost damage. Lastly, she says that applying a thin layer of mulch to the soil before an unexpected frost can help provide the plant’s roots with added insulation during brief cold snaps.
Want more gardening tips? Sign up for our free gardening newsletter for our best growing tips, troubleshooting hacks, and more!
Tips for Healthy Marigolds Next Year
Given you can’t save your marigolds from the impending winter cold, is there anything you can do now to give next year’s plants a good head start? The experts agree: the best thing you can do now, at the end of the growing season, is to save seeds for spring growing.
Luckily, this is super easy to do. Simply let a few of your marigold blooms dry on the plant, then collect the long, dark, arrow-shaped seeds from the ends of the dried petals, says Troy Hake, owner and founder of Outsidepride. Store them in a dark, dry, and cool location until you’re ready to start the seeds in the spring, about 6 to 8 weeks before the expected last frost date in your area.
In addition to saving seeds, there are a few other tasks you can complete now to prepare your garden for next year’s marigold crop. These include:
Garden clean up: Cleaning up dead plants after a killing frost helps prevent overwintering pests or fungal spores, says Ohler.Amend the soil: Fall is the ideal time to enrich your soil with fresh compost, manure, and organic matter, such as leaves, to keep the soil healthy and ready for spring planting.Plan ahead: Sometimes, the fall is the best time to plan for next year’s garden while all of the information and lessons learned from this year are still fresh. Consider your layout, the ideal spacing, whether rotation is needed (due to pests or disease issues), and when you’ll need to collect seeds for the following year.
Comments are closed.