Why Won’t My Marigolds Bloom?

Do your flowers receive at least six hours of direct sunlight?

Do you water your marigolds at least once in seven days?

Did you deadhead (cut off spent or dead flower blossoms) your marigolds?

Marigolds need adequate sunshine to blossom. They require full sun to produce optimal blossoms. For the best results, your marigolds should get at least six hours of direct sunlight throughout the day — it doesn't have to be all at once, but it should add up and hit six hours total by the end of the day. If your marigolds are in pots, consider moving them to a sunnier spot on your deck or patio. If your marigolds are in the ground, try to prune back overhanging tree branches and thin out nearby shrubs, hedges, and other plants that may cast a shade on your flower garden.

Marigolds will reduce the number of blossoms they produce or stop flowering altogether if they don't get enough water. That's because the plant is trying to conserve energy and moisture as it experiences drought stress. In most cases, marigolds need to be watered once every seven days. When applying irrigation, use enough water to moisten the soil to a depth of 6 to 8 inches. This encourages deeper rooting, which improves your marigold plant's overall health and vigor.

Marigolds create the most flower blossoms when the plants are grown in poor quality, low-nutrient soil. If you choose to fertilize your marigolds, the excessive nitrogen will prompt a profuse growth of foliage at the expense of flower blossoms. Inspect your plants. If they're looking green and lush but with few to no flowers, it may be a sign that you're feeding them too much. Stop fertilizing your marigolds, and they'll start producing flowers again as they deplete the soil's nutrients over time.

Deadheading redirects nutrients back to the plant so it has more energy to grow more flowers, instead of spending energy on producing seeds. If your marigolds produced a great first set of flowers but then stopped blooming, the slowdown in flower growth may be because the plant is exerting all its efforts on making seeds. Grab a pair of garden shears and remove all dead or wilted flower buds. This will prompt your marigold plants to start blooming again.