Marigolds are one of the most popular types of flowers that gardeners plant for the summer season due to their beauty and ease of growth. They come in beautiful hues of gold and yellow with the occasional white, and they stand out easily due to their popularity. These decorative flowers are even good for helping to ward off microscopic worms and even soil nematodes, making them as helpful and protective as they are beautiful.
Whether you are going to purchase marigold plants or are going to grow them from seed, you’re probably wondering: how much sunlight do marigolds need? Can marigolds grow in shade? It’s an important set of questions that needs to be asked of any flower, and in this article, we will help you figure it out.
Exactly How Much Sunlight Do Marigolds Need?
The answer is that, in general, marigolds will need anywhere between five to six hours of full sunlight every single day in order for the flowers to develop naturally and for normal foliage to develop. One of the best places to put the marigolds will be in a border location or even near your home toward the south side to ensure that the flowers get the right amount of sun.
While marigolds can indeed take the heat of the sun, these flowers thrive in places that have direct and reflected sunlight with soil that is moist and sound to keep them stable. Sometimes, the plants will need a little shading during the afternoon on particularly hot days to stop them from withering. This is especially true in desert areas that are constantly hot and sweltering and is doubly true if you aren’t mulching the soil to help it retain as much moisture as possible.
Part of the reason that the full sunlight exposure is so important is that marigolds always use their full sunlight locations to their total advantage, which allows the leaves to constantly photosynthesize during the day. By doing this, the plants will be able to develop multiple flowers at a time.
You can keep the flowers coming by paying attention to the blooms and deadheading the marigolds when it comes time. The shaded marigolds won’t bloom as heavily or may not bloom at all, because they truly need all of the energy from the sun that they can get. In order to ensure that your blooms are getting enough sun, you can plant your smaller plants with 12 inches of space around them and the larger, taller types with around 36 inches of space. By strategically planting them with space in mind, it helps to provide the most sunlight exposure possible.
So, in conclusion, the answer to the question “do marigolds like full sun?” is a resounding yes. It is important that you plant them with that knowledge and take care to ensure they aren’t exposed to too much shade in order to make the most out of all of your marigold blooms.
>Sometimes, the plants will need a little shading during the afternoon on particularly hot days to stop them from withering
I’m glad you mentioned this because this is something I learned the hard way! When I was a newbie I thought “the more sun, the better!” but as it turns out, you can definitely have too much of a good thing.