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Units

Marigold Spacing Calculator

How far apart to plant marigolds, and how many fit your bed, row or area.

Units
In the row
8 to 10 in
Square foot method
4 per square
Planting depth
0.3 in
in

Published for Marigold: 8 to 10 in.

Where you plant
Pattern
ft
ft
More optionsEdge margin
Space at the edge

Half a spacing keeps each plant inside the bed, so neighbours in the next bed are still a full spacing away. Plant on the edge when the plants may spread past it, such as the first and last post of a hedge line.

Marigolds that fit

50plants

About 1.78 per sq ft of ground.

Triangular (staggered) spacing would fit 60 here.

Top view, 8 × 4 ft. Each circle is the space one plant gets.
Plants per sq ft
1.78
Plants per acre
77,440
Plants per hectare
191,358
Ground per plant
0.56sq ft
Ground covered
32sq ft

Common raised beds at this spacing

BedAt 9 in, squareSquare foot method
4 x 4 ft2564
4 x 8 ft50128
3 x 6 ft3272
4 x 12 ft80192

How these numbers are worked out

In a square pattern the rows are one spacing apart, so each plant takes spacing × spacing of ground.

9 in × 9 in = 0.5625 sq ft per plant

43,560 sq ft per acre ÷ 0.5625 sq ft = 77,440 plants per acre

Per-area figures ignore the edges. The count for a bed, row or circle places each one, so it is usually a little lower. One acre is 43,560 sq ft; one hectare is 10,000 m².

Growing in pots? .

How far apart to plant marigolds

Clemson's Home and Garden Information Center spaces French marigolds 8 to 10 inches apart and the larger African marigolds 12 to 16 inches apart. In a square foot garden, the UC Master Gardeners' guide fits 4 marigolds per square foot. Seed goes about 1/4 inch deep.

The calculator starts at 9 inches each way for French marigolds. Choose "African marigold" in the variety menu and it switches to 14 inches.

How many marigolds fit a bed

BedFrench, 9 inAfrican, 14 inSquare foot method (4 per sq ft)
4 × 4 ft25964
4 × 8 ft5018128
3 × 6 ft321072
4 × 12 ft8030192

The first two columns keep half a spacing clear along the bed edges, as the calculator does. The square foot count packs every square to the edge, 6 inches apart, so it is the most you could fit. As an edging along a 25 ft path, French marigolds at 9 inches take 33 plants.

French or African marigolds?

  • French marigolds (Tagetes patula) are compact, 6 to 18 inches tall with smaller flowers, and take the close 8 to 10 inch spacing.
  • African marigolds (Tagetes erecta) grow up to 36 inches tall with large flowers, so Clemson gives them 12 to 16 inches. They also need a longer start indoors: 8 weeks instead of 4 to 6.

Mixing both in one bed? Count each group at its own spacing with the variety menu and add the results.

Planting marigolds

Clemson plants marigolds out after the last spring frost, in full sun (6 or more hours a day) and well-drained loamy soil with a pH of 5.5 to 7.0. Seed can be sown directly once the soil has warmed and the danger of frost has passed, or started indoors at 70 to 75 °F, where it sprouts in 5 to 7 days. See when to start marigold seeds for dates at your ZIP code.

To keep plants flowering, Clemson advises removing the old flowers as they fade.

Using the calculator

Choose a bed, a row or an area. Square matches the grids above; Triangular (staggered) offsets every second row and fits a few more plants on a large bed. The unit toggle switches to centimetres: 9 inches is about 23 cm.

For marigolds mixed into a vegetable bed, plan the squares in the square foot gardening calculator or the raised bed planner.