Marigolds are low-maintenance plants that can be grown as both annuals and perennials. Though, you should note that the flower also has over 1000 species. The specifications for your plant usually depend on the variety that you think about planting. This will determine the colour of your plant as well as its features on it. Keeping this in mind, you should take your time when deciding which variety of marigolds to plant in your gardens.
There are several popular options that people can go with but two of the best ones include French and Mexican marigolds. These look quite similar which is why some users often get confused among them. Hence, we will be using this article to provide you with a comparison that should help you in understanding the difference between the two plants.
French Marigold vs Mexican Marigold
French Marigold
French marigolds are from the family of daisies. This is why people will notice that there are tons of similarities between the two species. If you are thinking about planting these in your garden, then there are several color options that you can choose from. This includes having shades of yellow, orange, and red that are also sometimes combined. This allows people to make their gardens look beautiful as long as they have the flowers properly planted.
When it comes to the size of French marigolds, you will notice that this can range from 6 to 8 inches if not taken properly care of. Although, if you keep your plant healthy then it can grow up to a total of 18 inches. This is still quite small when compared with other varieties of marigold. Though, one main benefit of going with this breed is that French marigolds have a much longer bloom time.
This includes the usual months of spring, but the plant will easily last you until it starts to freeze. The main reason for this is that these flowers have a much wider range of temperatures so that they can stay healthy in. If you live in an area where the temperature does not get as low that it starts to freeze then you might be able to keep the plant healthy throughout the year.
Though, other than this, there are also some maintenance steps required for French marigolds. Keeping these factors in check can ensure that your plant lasts you a long time. This includes keeping your variety under direct sunlight as well as keeping the soil around it moist at all times. Moreover, the soil should also have a proper drainage system so that liquid does not start collecting around the roots.
Mexican Marigold
Mexican marigolds are often also known as African marigolds. This is because the flowers can be found planted across both of these regions. The plant falls under the family of sunflowers which is why tons of characteristics between the two plants are shared. This includes having small petals that are spread uniformly. The flower can grow with a diameter of 5 inches which makes it look quite big when compared with French marigolds.
Other than this, another key difference is that the plant can grow up to 3 feet in size. This is much larger than the other variety but there are also some negatives that this plant has. Mexican marigolds have a shorter bloom time as this ranges from midsummer to frost. This can be annoying as the plant will not start growing any flowers when spring arrives.
On the other hand, French marigolds start blooming as soon as winters are over. Other than this, you should also note that Mexican marigolds are usually planted as annuals. This means that your plant will dry out once its season is over. The user has to then plant new seeds the next year so that new flowers can start growing.
One more thing that you should note is that the Mexican or African marigold also has a dwarf variety that people can plant in their homes. This grows significantly smaller in size which is why people often use these indoors or plant the flower in pots. Going through the information provided above, you can easily see how both of these varieties are different from each other.