The many uses of marigolds

Sow Tagetes to keep other plants safe, says Ruth

- Ruth Hayes

THIS week’s free seeds are for French marigold ‘Red Cherry’, perky low-growing plants that will add pops of red and gold to the garden, either in borders or baskets and containers.

They are reliable bedding plants and also a useful ally in the fight against whitefly that attack tomatoes and other edible crops in summer.

Research carried out at the University of Newcastle has proved that Tagetes repel whitefly by releasing a substance called limonene. The pests find the scent unbearable and try to avoid it, so if you grow Tagetes near your tomatoes and other leafy crops it will help keep them safe.

Some varieties of French marigolds can look rather brash and hard, but ‘Red Cherry’ are striking, flowering a deep and lustrous red, the petals fringed with gold.