Why do marigolds dry and what to do if leaves fade and buds turn black?

Marigolds are one of the most common garden plants. They are grown in the garden, in parks and flower beds. The reasons for the widespread distribution: unpretentiousness in care and non-susceptibility to infections.

They were called so in Russia for petals similar to velvet fabric. In Germany they are called student flowers, in Poland - axamites, and in Ukraine - Chernobrivtsi.

It is rare for flower growers to have problems growing them, but what if they dry out? We will answer this question in this article.

What is this plant?

Marigolds are single or perennial herbaceous plants. They have beautiful flowers and round ribbed branched stems. The root system is the hock. Leaves are unpaired, cirrus dissected. Flowers are collected in inflorescences baskets. Inflorescences are unusual and have different shapes in different species: oblate, flat-round, semi-or spherical. Baskets are also different, both in form and in a variety of colors.

Marigolds are found with simple, terry, yellow, brown or orange baskets. After the flowers bloom, fruits form. In some species of the plant they are flattened narrow wedge-shaped, while in others they are linear with an obvious sharpening below. Dissected achenes are at the top. You can get acquainted with the features of flowering and study photos of blossoming marigolds in a separate article.

Marigolds - decoration for the veranda, terrace, balcony, loggia, garden. Among the variety of perennial and annual varieties and types of marigolds, every florist will find one that he will like. It is not necessary to plant a plant in open ground. It is successfully grown at home in a pot or crates, in a hanging basket, floor vase, etc. It looks spectacular on a flowerbed in the fall, when other flowers bloom.

Among other things, marigolds have medicinal properties and are widely used in folk medicine. Read more about this in our article.

Common problems

Marigolds thin a specific fragrant odor. A marvelous aroma of secretions comes from the roots into the soil. They are reliably protected from fusarium and other fungal diseases. Together with them under reliable protection and "neighbors". If you follow the simple rules in the care (lighting, temperature, humidity, soil, etc.), the plant pleases flowering and healthy appearance.

Diseases and Pests

A spider mite appears due to dry air masses. To cure the plant, establish watering and spray it regularly. You can find more information about the spider mite and other pests attacked by marigolds, as well as their photos and methods of combating them, here.
Rot and fungus. This problem is solved by drying the soil, i.e. temporary lack of watering, and rearrangement of the pot with the plant in a warm place.
Snails and slugs. Marigolds do not like it when they are treated with toxic substances, and therefore it is necessary to deal with them by folk methods (sprinkling soil with egg shells, collecting unpleasant creatures manually).
Gray rot. Dark brown wet spots are noticed on the leaves and stems due to the low temperature and high humidity in the room where they are grown. The problem is observed during thickening of landings.

Important! If a pest and signs of disease are detected, the affected parts of the plant are destroyed.

Read more about diseases and pests that threaten marigolds, as well as ways to combat them, in a separate article.

The nuances of growing

Growth restriction due to poorly moistened soil.
Small inflorescences due to poorly moist soil.
Damage to the plant with fungal diseases due to waterlogging of the soil.
Rotting of inflorescences in the case of growing marigolds in open ground, when the summer turned out to be rainy.
Acquisition of red-purple hue due to a decrease in air temperature to + 10⁰С. Due to this, growth also stops.
The plant does not bloom, and there are a lot of leaves due to the fact that the room where the marigolds are grown has hot, humid air, and the florist uses organic fertilizers without measure. Here is how to properly care and how to feed marigolds for plentiful flowering.

Causes

Marigolds are grateful plants. If a gardener pays attention to marigolds, there will be no problems with decorativeness.

Why marigolds dry:

When yellowing leaves on marigolds pay attention to lighting. If the plant was previously grown in a room where the sun was a rare guest, and after it was exposed to the tear of the sun, then the leaves will turn yellow, and then dry and fall off.
Sometimes yellowing of leaves and wilting of buds occurs for another reason. A flower grower limits a flower to watering. He rarely waters it, and drought is contraindicated for him.
When grown in open ground, it is often sown with seeds, thereby contributing to dense plantings. Marigolds do not have enough space and soil to develop fully. Because of this, their leaves dry and the buds wither. The rules for planting and caring for marigolds in open ground can be found here.

Reference!

Make a diagnosis

Marigolds rarely become prey of pests. Better to detect pests early on:

Root rot. If the seedlings are affected by the black stalk, then adult plants are susceptible to frequent infection - root rot. The flower grower notices that marigolds slow growth, their leaves and flowers fade.
If you do not create optimal conditions for growth, transplant marigolds in poor soil, you will have to remove them from the flower bed. Root rot is dangerous for any part of the plant.
Spider mite. This pest is found on young plants that are grown indoors or in greenhouses. Only in hot weather does he love adult plants.
Before the leaves fade and fall, they will acquire a whitish hue. They will remain plaque after the activity of the tick. In order not to deal with the pest, flowers are sprayed with clean water. Tobacco control helps pest control:
1. It is prepared from 200 gr. tobacco and 3 liters of water.
2. Insist for two days, then diluted with water to 10 liters and add 50 grams of laundry soap.
3. After thorough mixing use it in the treatment of sick marigolds.
Greenhouse whitefly. This pest manifests itself in particularly hot weather when growing plants in open ground. A tiny butterfly with a body length of only 2 mm eats buds, sucks out the juice, as a result of which they die.
The only way to help is with pesticide treatment. It is necessary to process immediately after the first signs of the onset of the disease. If the procedure is carried out on time, then the effect immediately makes itself felt. The orange whitefly is destroyed and does not appear on the plant anymore.
Thrips. This small pest leaves small punctures on the petals of the buds. They rot, dry and fall.
It is difficult to deal with thrips, as folk remedies do not help and modern drugs are ineffective unless you cut the bushes close to the roots before processing. It is better to treat marigolds with solutions of special preparations from the beginning of spring to the end of flowering.
Aphid. To stop a pest that eats foliage and drinks juice from leaves and buds, they treat the flower with chemicals. Before this, it is washed off with a strong pressure of water from the hose.
To prevent the aphid from appearing again, treatments are repeated after 10 days or after each rain. This procedure will be enough to fully heal the plant.

The foliage dries and the buds turn black

Some gardeners are faced with the fact that the plants dry leaves and buds turn black. This problem is observed when they are grown in a pot or in open ground. It causes bacterial damage, i.e. rot. The cause of rotting buds is excess moisture and excessive watering.

Attention! The plant does not like waterlogging of the soil. It will put up with sparse watering and dryness rather than sputum.

What to do?

Noticing that marigolds have dried leaves and buds blacken, all damaged parts are cut off or cut off.
Regulate the watering mode. It is better to leave them without moisture for 2-3 days than not to stand and water them on the first day, thereby exacerbating the problem. Wilted leaves always recover after watering!
When marigold is damaged by pests, they buy an appropriate remedy. Often they are chosen by ticks. The means of Aktar does not help in the fight against them. This insecticide helps fight large insects, but not ticks at all.
It is better to buy the following acaricides:
- Omight.
- Demitan.
- Actellic (drugs of strong action).
A week after treatment, they use mild preparations (Fitoverm). For prevention, not only marigolds are treated, but also all plants next to them, since ticks quickly lay eggs.

If all else fails?

If the actions described above do not help, marigolds will die. In order not to harm the "neighbors", they remove them from the flower beds and burn them.

Conclusion

Marigolds, like any other plant, like to take care of them. Inspecting them once a week, they will notice dried leaves and buds in time. Florists will have to find out the cause and take appropriate measures.