Should I dead head my Marigolds?

[Lab_Man]

I tried my hand at starting seeds indoors this winter and had great success.

My wife planted my Marigolds into pots and planters last weekend. She fertilized them and they are all blooming and looking great!

My question is if I do nothing, will they stay the same size?
If I dead head them, will they grow larger?

[skiingjeff]

If you don't deadhead the marigolds, you will have less flower production. I'm not sure about them not growing larger as much as the loss of flowers.

Also, be sure at the end of the season to let some of the flowers dies on the plant for collection of seed. Marigolds are one of the easiest plants to collect viable seed from for use the next year.

Good luck!

[rainbowgardener]

agree, deadheading keeps more flowers coming. Sun, water, and nutrients keep it growing. Nothing you can do will keep it the same size - life is not static! But they do have a genetically programmed size built in, just as nothing I could eat or do would ever make me taller than 5' 2". So your variety would tell you things like 12-15" tall. There are marigolds from very dwarf 6" tall or so to very tall, up to even 3 feet. What variety you have will tell you how tall it will get. After that they just bush out more.

[Lab_Man]

The two varieties that I have are:
Happy Days, which will attain 10 inches.
Fireball, which will reach 12 to 16 inches.

So, can I enjoy the flower while it's vibrant and pinch it off when it starts to fade?
Or should I pinch them off now and forgo the nice flower now to reap the reward down the road?
I understand that the plant is pumping energy into the flower to make seeds.

[ElizabethB]

Pinch off the flowers when they start to fade. Enjoy them on the plant or you can cut some to bring inside. Marigolds make nice nose-gay type arrangements in small vases.

Marigolds are annuls. Their life cycle is to grow, flower, seed and die. When you interrupt the cycle by dead heading the plant produces more flowers. Ditto on letting some of the flowers go to seed at the end of the season.

Enjoy

[Lab_Man]

Thanks for the advise everyone.

I have deadheaded 1/2 of them and let the rest have their flower, for now.

I like to experiment, so I'll see if there is any difference in the plant growth, deadheaded vs. leave the flower until it starts to fade.

Time will tell....................

[ElizabethB]

Don't dead head until the flower is fading. Enjoy the blooms while they last THEN dead head. Notice the word DEAD - that means fading or faded blooms - not your bright, fresh blossoms.

[Lab_Man]

Ok, I won't deadhead anymore. Thanks Elizabeth.
Between everyone here and my mom, I will learn a lot this year.