18 Types of Marigolds to Brighten Up Your Garden

The various types of marigolds are versatile Mediterranean flowers that have traveled the world and adapted themselves to a variety of growing conditions. This adaptability has made it one of the most common plants you find in most gardens.

Marigolds are easy to grow and blossom almost all year round—except in places with harsh winters. They require full sun and well-draining soil but are otherwise not too picky.

It's a great plant to brighten up your garden as it comes in a variety of bold colors like yellow, red, and orange; not to mention the striped as well as bi-color variants.

An added advantage of planting marigolds is that they bring in beneficial pollinators—like bees and butterflies—to vegetable gardens. They're affected by very few insects and disease problems making it the perfect low-maintenance garden plant!

18 Types of Marigolds

Many of us first noticed marigolds during the Día de los Muertos celebrations. Now we want them around our homes. Let’s take a look at 18 marigold varieties that we can plant in our gardens.

1) Bonanza Marigold

Bonanza is a bushy dwarf variety belonging to the French marigold family. They're propagated from seeds during spring after the frost has melted. They can be grown outdoors in garden beds as well as in containers on the patio or porch.

They have rust-red flowers with yellow borders. They start flowering in late spring, producing blooms through summer until autumn.

They like getting full sun. They also tolerate many soils but grow best in moist but well-draining soil that is loamy, sandy, or clayey.

2) Little Hero Marigold

The Little Hero marigold types are another variation of compact French marigold that only grows to be around eight inches tall.

This variety tolerates hot and humid climates. They're characterized by two-inch double-layered flowers that come in a multitude of shades like gold, flame, red, yellow, and orange.

3) Bounty Marigold

Bounty marigold is a type of French marigold variety that is around 10 to 12 inches tall. It's a dwarf variety that is quite compact even after it reaches full maturity.

This plant does well in hot, humid summer weather. They produce flowers only at the top of the plants. The flowers are two inches wide and come in gold, flame, and orange hues.

4) Hero Orange Marigold

The Tagetes patula 'Hero Orange' is also known as French Marigold Hero Orange. It's a dwarf French marigold variety. The mature plant reaches around 25 cm in height.

The distinguishing feature is the double-layered orange flower that reaches a width of 6 cm when in full bloom. That's on the larger side of the marigold types.

This plant produces flowers in summer and autumn. It does well in full sun and prefers well-draining moist soil. It adapts well to a lot of soil types including sandy, clayey, as well as loamy soil.

5) Queen Sophia Marigold

Queen Sophia Marigold is yet another dwarf variety of the French marigold. This one is a deciduous plant and sheds its leaves seasonally, so you need to cut back the plant after the flowering season.

This margold variety produces carnation-like semi-double flowers. It has flowers with reddish-orange petals and yellow edges. These and all other marigold types are plants that repel ticks!

6) Safari Scarlet Marigold

The Safari Scarlet is also a dwarf French marigold. It sports semi-double flowers in a gorgeous rich mahogany-orange hue with yellow tips. These plants also shed seasonally and need to be cut back after the flowering season.

7) Safari Tangerine Marigold

The Safari Tangerine is a dwarf variety belonging to the French marigold family. Its distinguishing features are its aromatic leaves and carnation-like flowers in a vivid tangerine orange color.

They produce flowers in spring, summer, and autumn. They grow best in full sun and well draining, but moist, soil. You need to deadhead the plant frequently to prolong flowering.

8) Tiger-Eyes Marigold

The Tagetes patula 'Tiger Eyes' is also a dwarf variety of the French marigold. It's characterized by double-layered flowers that have an anemone-like inner layer.

The outer flower or layer is mahogany red and the inner anemone layer is deep yellow. This plant flowers from late spring to early autumn.

9) Yellow Jacket Marigold

The Tagetes patula ‘Yellow Jacket’ is a compact and bushy dwarf French marigold variety. It has a long flowering season that lasts from spring to autumn.

They're characterized by grey-green strongly aromatic foliage and tight, double-crested, bright yellow flowers. Marigolds are plants that repel spiders, so if those scare you, you can grow them indoors in pots or containers.

10) Safari Mixture Marigold

The Safari Mixture Marigold or Tagetes patula is a strongly aromatic flowering plant that belongs to the French marigold family.

It's characterized by carnation-like semi-double flowers. These plants produce flowers in yellow, orange, and mahogany-red hues. I love these types of marigolds because you can get many colors but they all need the same maintenance, making your flower bed much easier to deal with.

11) Signet Marigold

Signet marigolds are small bushy plants with lacy, lemon-scented foliage. They're characterized by small, single delicate flowers in hues like yellow, orange, or rust red.

They produce edible flowers with a spicy tarragon flavor. Don't just eat flowers willy nilly though, because there are poisonous flowers out there.

12) Lemon Gem Marigold

The Lemon Gem is a type of signet marigold. It's characterized by daisy-like, lemon-yellow flowers that bloom from late spring through summer and autumn.

These types of marigolds do well in all weather conditions except extremely cold winters. They like full sun and prefer well-draining soil whether it is sandy, clayey, chalky, or loamy soil.

They can be affected by pests like snails, slugs, and glasshouse red spider mites. You may be wondering "where do spider mites come from" and we have the answer.

13) Spanish Tarragon Marigold

Spanish tarragon marigold or Tagetes lucida is an anise-flavored marigold that blooms in fall. This plant grows up to three feet in height and sports simple and small flowers. It's sometimes called Mexican Mint Marigold.

Unlike tarragon which doesn't grow well in weather that's too hot and humid, marigolds are versatile and highly adaptable. Since they are aromatic and flavorful they can be used as a substitute for real tarragon.

14) Pot Marigold

The Pot marigold types or Calendula officinalis is known by many names including riddles, common marigold, and Scotch marigold.

They'll send up shoots in most soil types. The one thing that they are picky about is the weather, they grow well in sunny locations but can't survive in cold winter climates. They bloom from seeds in under two months, which is a pretty quick growth cycle.

The florets are edible. They're used in salads and also as types of garnish. They're usually used in place of saffron for a pop of color. Although the leaves are edible too, they're not very palatable. Because of their bold hues, they are also used to dye fabric.

15) Irish Lace Marigold

The Irish Lace Marigold or Tagetes filifolia is a short plant with lacy leaves. It has tiny white florets and scented dark green leaves.

Unlike other marigold varieties with brilliant and bold looks, this plant has a delicate and dreamy look. It's the perfect plant for those who want to plant a perennial flowering plant that's not too bold.

16) Zenith Lemon Yellow Marigold

The Tagetes 'Zenith Lemon Yellow' is a bushy dwarf variety belonging to the French marigold family. They stand out because of their daisy-like, lemon-yellow flower heads and strongly aromatic leaves.

This plant can be grown from seeds and prefers locations with well-draining soil and full sun. This variety is generally pest and disease-free. Marigolds are plants that can repel mosquitos too, so that's a nice secondary benefit.

17) Zenith Red Marigold

The Tagetes 'Zenith Red' Marigold is a compact and bushy plant that does well in full sun and well-draining soil. This variety has aromatic leaves.

It starts flowering from late spring well into the autumn season. Zenith Red gem marigolds produce double-layered flowers in a deep red hue with golden-yellow edging or shading.

18) Mexican Marigold

The Mexican marigold is also known as Aztec Marigold or African marigold. This plant is native to Mexico and grows abundantly in the wilds of Mexico.

These flowers are so widely available that they are used to decorate altars and tombs during the Day Of the Dead celebrations in Mexico. This practice gave way to the flower also being known as the ‘flower of the dead’. The Aztecs also used these flowers for ceremonial and medicinal purposes. Hence, the name Aztec marigold.

This variety is propagated through seeds and produces flowers in the hues yellow, orange, and white. They flower during summer and autumn. Both the leaves as well as the flowers of this plant are aromatic.

The florets are used to make natural yellow dye for textiles. They are also used in several culinary preparations for added color and flavor. This variety is prone to powdery mildews attacks, so inspect them first.

Types of Marigolds for Every Garden

No matter where you live (except the coldest regions), you can find colors and sizes of these beautiful flowers to suit your preferences and help decorate the areas around your home and in your garden.

Marigolds have traversed international boundaries and adapted themselves so well that you can find a types of marigolds to suit every nook of the world.

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