Marigold ‘Strawberry Blonde’

Your eyes aren’t deceiving you! A breeding break through has created a French Marigold with flowers in totally unique russet tones; bringing pink shades to the marigold colour palette for the very first time. These bushy, vigorous, free-flowering French marigold plants are set to be this year’s must-have bedding plant. Marigold ‘Strawberry Blonde’ has high weather tolerance ensuring a long season of colour in beds, border and containers. Great as a ‘mixer’ but it truly comes into its own when planted en masse in drifts or blocks. Height: and Spread: 25cm (10in).

Culinary note: The citrus tasting flowers have many uses, try them in salads, sandwiches or seafood dishes too. For more details about edible flowers

Feed and water marigold plants regularly, particularly during hot, dry periods. Regular deadheading of marigold flowers will encourage further blooms to be produced throughout the grow season . Culinary note: Marigold flowers have a mild citrus flavour. Use them in sandwiches, salads, fish dishes and hot desserts.

Start off in a seed tray indoors and plant out in borders. Fill a seed tray with good, free-draining, damp, seed compost. Sow seed on the surface of the compost and cover with a very fine sprinkling of dry vermiculite or finely sieved compost. Place the seed and tray in a propagator or seal inside a polythene bag and keep at around 21-25C (70-75F) until the seeds germinate. This will take about 7-21 days. Don’t exclude light as this helps germination.

When the seedlings are large enough to handle, transplant them individually into 7.5cm (3″) pots or multi-cell trays. Before planting out, acclimatise the plants to cooler conditions by putting them outside for a few hours a day for a few weeks. Plant out  about 30cm (12″) apart