African Marigold Fantastic Yellow seeds - Tagetes erecta

The Marigold 'Fantastic Yellow', known by its Latin name Tagetes erecta, offers double flowers reminiscent of chrysanthemums, a bit ruffled with wavy petals, in a bright yellow hue. This tightly packed double flower resists harsh weather conditions better, while the well-branched plant ensures abundant flowering throughout the summer. Stunning, it structures borders and enhances flower beds with its vibrant colour, before making sunny bouquets for the house.

Tagetes erecta, more commonly known as Marigold, is a plant from the aster family originating from Mexico, Central America, and western South America. This perennial but frost-sensitive species has given rise to numerous varieties and hybrids, including 'Fantastic Yellow', well-branched and floriferous. This plant rapidly forms compact clumps 70 to 80 cm high by 40 to 50 cm wide, covered with highly cut, pinnate, dark shiny green foliage rich in essential oils, distinguishable by its particular scent, which some may find unpleasant. Its flowering is long and remarkably generous: its slightly twisted yellow flowers are grouped in very double, round and slightly flattened heads, 8 to 10 cm in diameter.

Marigolds are star plants in summer flower beds or vegetable gardens. The long and bright flowering of 'Fantastic Yellow' allows for a multitude of uses, along pathways or to highlight summer or autumn flower beds. Plant them with annual and perennial plants that love the sun like lavenders, sages, cosmos, daylilies, coreopsis, and nasturtiums.

The strong smell of marigold foliage and the substances secreted by their roots repel some insects harmful to crops, which is why these plants are often placed among the vegetables in the garden. Marigold yields a food colouring called zeaxanthin or E151h, a natural pigment safe for human consumption.