Marigold ‘Petite’ at 32″ on 9-19-11, #79-1.

Marigold ‘Petite’

Tagetes erecta

TAG-e-teez  ee-RECK-tuh

Syn.

Tagetes patula

TAG-e-teez PAT-yoo-luh

Synonyms of Tagetes erecta (7) (Updated on 2-24-21): Tagetes corymbosa Sweet, Tagetes elongata Willd., Tagetes heterocarpha Rydb., Tagetes major Gaertn., Tagetes patula L., Tagetes remotiflora Kunze, Tagetes tenuifolia Kunth

Tagetes erecta L. is the correct and accepted scientific name for this species of Marigold. The genus and species were named and described as such by Carl von Linnaeus in the second volume of the first edition of Species Plantarum in 1753.

Plants of the World Online by Kew lists 48 species in the Tagetes genus (as of 2-24-21 when I last updated this page). It is a member of the plant family Asteraceae with 1,679 genera. Those numbers should change as updates are made (and likely will).

THERE ARE A FEW LINKS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE FOR FURTHER READING.

Marigold ‘Petite’ on 10-12-11, #82-11.

I bought seeds of the Marigold ‘Petite Mix’ from the Family Dollar Store while living at the mansion in Mississippi in 2011. I also bought seeds of the Marigold ‘French Dwarf Double.

Information on the page said that the ‘Petite” were supposed to grow to a height of 8” and the ‘French Dwarf Double’ to a height of 12”. SO, my intentions were to plant the smaller ‘Petite’ along the front of the border in the corner bed in the backyard and the ‘French Dwarf Double’ behind them.

Previously, French types were considered Tagetes patula, but now they have found their way to the genus Tagetes erecta. Many scientific names have changed over the past several years, and some of the changes have been surprising. Previously, the taller Marigolds were Tagetes erecta while the shorter, bushier types were Tagetes patula… I am not a botanist, so I just go with the flow…

Marigold ‘Petite’ on 11-12-11, #84-22.

Well, they didn’t grow to only 8” They grew as tall as the ‘French Dwarf Double’ which also grew taller than they were supposed to. In fact, and I am NOT KIDDING, they grew 32” TALL!!!

The Marigold ‘Petite’ is a really nice cultivar, especially if they actually grow to only 8″ tall, and flower this profusely. I didn’t save any seeds because I decided to focus on the ‘Brocade’ series.

I hope you enjoyed this page and maybe found it useful. If you have any comments, questions or suggestions, I would like to hear from you. Please click on “like” if you visited this page. It helps us bloggers stay motivated. 🙂 You can check out the links below for further reading. The links take you directly to the genus and species of this plant. If you notice I made an error, please let me know. Of course, you can always send me an email at thebelmontrooster@yahoo.com.

FOR FURTHER READING:
PLANTS OF THE WORLD ONLINE (GENUS/SPECIES)
WIKIPEDIA (GENUS/T. erecta/T. patula)
NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY
CORNELL UNIVERSITY
GARDENIA