Hi. I'm usually found over on the veggie forums, but I am not as familiar with annuals and this looked like a good place to ask about Marigolds.
Every two years or so I try another variety of yellow African marigold and the results are similar. I get nice plants 18-26" high that have one or two good-looking blooms apiece but the flowers brown and wither after a month or so. I dimly remember many years ago (in another city) growing some marigolds that were bushy like fall mums and had many flowers on them, but that was before I started keeping records and I can't find anything like that in the catalogs now. Can anyone suggest a bushy yellow marigold? (I'll reluctantly go with a mix if I must.)
My second question is about the short life. Is that to be expected or am I doing something wrong. I only lightly fertilize once upon transplanting, and water only when it hasn't rained for 4 days or so. The soil is slighty acidic. If there are no long-blooming Marigolds, I guess I could try replacing the original flowers with a second planting 6 weeks or so after the first one to extend the season.
