There are LOTS of kinds of marigolds. I planted French Marigolds this year to deal with Verticulum Wilt. I only wish I'd know about this earlier. The book I read said to plant African Marigolds in the spring, then till them under when you plant your tomatoes. I'll be doing that as soon as I can find the African subvariety.

By the way, these French Marigolds smell absolutely marvelous ! Gee Golly !

Jkirk

where did you get the seeds to grow french marigolds. I don't see them in my gurneys catalog. they only have the standard marigold.

There is no way to know what the nursery is selling unless the label specifies. Check the catalog websites for descriptions of the different varieties. If you list the various names, you might be able to find the same plant in the nursery. For seeds, try Park's, PineTree, or Thompson-Morgan. If you want the most benefit for repelling root nemotodes, plant an African variety; it takes about 3 years to really clear the soil. As a companion plant, my beans and tomatoes didn't seem to care whether they were African or French, but they definitely were healthier and produced heavier if there was a marigold plant about every two or three feet down the row.

the inca marigolds are listed as african and safari are listed as french marigolds. just found this in guerneys catalog. I have been growing these for years. Just did"t know it. I am currently saving seed so I'll be set to start my own plants in the spring.

just a website i found that states which variety is french or african.
http://www.msue.msu.edu/imp/modzz/00001426.html

According to various botanical historians, marigolds are native to the Americas, and so the types commonly called "french" or "african" have common ancestors. So I wonder if one is truly more efficacious than the other. A link to burpee's history of the marigold is below.

http://www.burpee.com/jump.jsp?itemID=536&itemType=CONTENT_ARTICLE