Mississippi
Gardens
Newsletter ArchivesFall marigolds are called Mari-mums
Mississippi Gardens Newspaper and Web Column - October 7, 2002
It's amazing to me that a new idea is catching on so fast and with so much success that it makes me wonder why we didn't think of it sooner. The new idea referred to is the use of marigolds in the fall garden! Traditionally, marigolds are grown in the spring and summer, but in the last few years Mississippi nurseries have been providing them in the fall much to the gardener's delight.
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Someone coined a new name to go along with this new introduction. Fall marigolds are called Mari-mums because they make you think of large chrysanthemums. They are available now at garden centers throughout Mississippi. Mari-mums are a relative newcomer to the fall garden season but they are quickly establishing themselves as a gardener's favorite.
Garden centers from north to south are featuring awesome choices of Mari-mums in great fall colors of orange, yellow and gold. Mari-mums with names like Antigua, Discovery and Marvel are some of the best additions to the fall garden and landscape. They are sturdy performers and yield beautiful blooms that look great in mass plantings or in combinations with other fall-bloomers like 'Victoria Blue' Salvia.
Mari-mums are not only beautiful in the landscape but may do double-duty in the vegetable garden by combating nematodes. Microscopic nematodes wreak havoc in Mississippi gardens by infesting roots of many vegetable plants and "strangling" them to death. Mari-mums, however, secrete chemicals that kill nematodes. If you need this kind of help from Mari-mums use a mass planting of them in an area of the vegetable garden where you have had trouble with nematodes and let them go to work!
When planting Mari-mums, select a sunny, well-drained site. Prepare the soil by tilling in a 2 or 3-inch layer of compost if needed. Compost is especially helpful on soils that have high sand or clay content. To feed your plants, consider adding a controlled release fertilizer according to the product label.
Along with Mari-mums, you will find many other outstanding beauties for the autumn landscape. A wide assortment of pansies, panolas, ornamental cabbage and kale, chrysanthemums, dianthus and snapdragon are available for your gardening pleasure. I can't remember when we've had so much to choose from at this time of year! Gardeners will also be pleasantly surprised to know that summer favorites like petunias and lantana can still be purchased to brighten the fall landscape. Happy Gardening!
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These archived columns were written by Kerry Johnson, a hobby gardener, former weekly newspaper columnist and retired Extension Horticulture Agent for 11 coastal counties in Mississippi.