The Organic
Revival
Flowers · Flower

Growing marigold

Tagetes erecta · also called Genda, GaindaAfrican marigold, grown for its large orange and yellow flowers for garlands and worship, and as a border row in vegetable plots. Raised in a nursery and transplanted; frost kills it.

Cold desert: Ladakh, Lahaul and Spiti

Our team has checked this guide against the sources at the end of the page.Includes AI suggestions where no published guide covers a detail
African marigold plant with a large double orange flower
Photo: Joydeep · CC BY-SA 3.0

At a glance

Marigold in the Cold desert

  • Season

    Short summer only, after the frosts

    No published guide covers this for the Cold desert, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

  • Sowing to last picking

    About four to five months from nursery to the first autumn frost.

    No published guide covers this for the Cold desert, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

  • Plant out

    Late May to early June

    No published guide covers this for the Cold desert, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

Across India

When to sow it

Twelve growing regions, January to December. Your region comes first.

Wait until May

The next sowing here is Late May to early June.

Under cover, from April, in a greenhouse.

Sowing now in:Central plateauDeccan plateauSouth interiorEast coast
  • Nursery
  • Transplant
  • Harvest
  • Under cover
  • Today
Cold desertLadakh, Lahaul and SpitiTemperate HimalayaKashmir valley, Shimla, KulluSub-tropical foothillsJammu, Kangra, Dehradun
Compare all 12 regions
Temperate HimalayaKashmir valley, Shimla, KulluSub-tropical foothillsJammu, Kangra, DehradunNorth-west plainsPunjab, Haryana, DelhiGangetic plainseastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal plainsNorth-east hills and valleysAssam, Meghalaya, SikkimArid westRajasthan, Kutch, north GujaratCentral plateauMadhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, VidarbhaDeccan plateauinterior Maharashtra, Telangana, north KarnatakaSouth interiorBengaluru, Mysuru, interior Tamil NaduWest coastKerala, Goa, KonkanEast coastcoastal Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, coastal Andhra
Today
See the dates as a table
RegionSowNurseryTransplantHarvest
Cold desertUnder cover: April, in a greenhouseLate May to early JuneLate July to September
Temperate HimalayaUnder cover: Late March to April, under coverMay to early JuneLate July to early October
Sub-tropical foothillsJuneSeptember to OctoberUnder cover: January, under coverJulyOctober to NovemberFebruary
North-west plainsEnd of JuneMid SeptemberUnder cover: January, under polytheneBy 25 FebruaryFirst half of AugustBy mid October
Gangetic plainsMid JuneMid SeptemberJanuary to FebruaryMid JulyMid OctoberFebruary to March
North-east hills and valleysSeptember to early OctoberMarchOctober to early NovemberAprilDecember to March
Arid westJuneSeptemberJulyOctoberDecember to early March
Central plateauFebruaryMayAugustNovemberMarchJuneSeptemberDecemberApril to JulyJuly to OctoberNovember to JanuaryFebruary to April
Deccan plateauFebruaryMayAugustNovemberMarchJuneSeptemberDecemberApril to JulyJuly to OctoberNovember to JanuaryFebruary to April
South interiorFebruaryMayAugustNovemberMarchJuneSeptemberDecemberApril to JulyJuly to OctoberNovember to JanuaryFebruary to April
West coastLate August to SeptemberDecemberLate September to OctoberJanuaryDecember to February
East coastFebruaryMayAugustNovemberMarchJuneSeptemberDecemberApril to JulyJuly to OctoberNovember to JanuaryFebruary to April

From seed to harvest

One season, day by day

Days from sowing

  1. Before sowing

    Well rotted farmyard manure or compostNo published guide covers this for the Cold desert, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

    About 2 to 3 kg per square metre · Dig it into the bed before transplanting. · Bed preparation

  2. Day 0

    Sow

  3. Day 4 to 5

    Seeds come up1,3

  4. Day 21 to 28

    Transplant1

  5. Day 120 to 150

    Last pickingNo published guide covers this for the Cold desert, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

The air is dry and the soil drains fast. Water every 4 to 6 days, more often in hot spells, and keep the soil moist without flooding it.No published guide covers this for the Cold desert, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

What it needs

Soil, sun and warmth

  • Soil pH1,3

    7 to 7.5

    Deep, fertile, well drained soil that holds water well; sandy loam suits it. Mix well rotted farmyard manure in at the last ploughing.

  • Sunlight2Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.

    At least 6 hours a day

    Full sun. In shade the plants grow lanky and flower poorly.

  • Temperature3,1Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.

    Grows best at 18 to 20 °C

    Frost: none tolerated.

    Monthly temperatures for the Cold desert aren't in the library yet.

Water and feeding

WateringNo published guide covers this for the Cold desert, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

The air is dry and the soil drains fast. Water every 4 to 6 days, more often in hot spells, and keep the soil moist without flooding it.

WeedingNo published guide covers this for the Cold desert, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

Hand weed two or three times while the plants are small.

WhenWhatHow muchHow
Bed preparationWell rotted farmyard manure or compostAbout 2 to 3 kg per square metreDig it into the bed before transplanting.

SourcesNo published guide covers this for the Cold desert, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

Varieties and yield

Typical rangeNo published guide covers this for the Cold desert, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

5 to 8 tonnes a hectare

Yields vary with the plot, the seed and the season.

Good neighbours7,6

Grows well with

Pests and diseasesNo published guide covers this for the Cold desert, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

Organic and cultural controls only.

  • Pest

    Aphids

    Signs

    Clusters on the growing tips and buds, which turn weak.

    What to do

    • Wash them off with a strong jet of water.
    • Pinch off and destroy badly infested tips.

  • Disease

    Collar rot

    Signs

    The stem rots at soil level and the plant wilts.

    What to do

    • Water with care and never let water stand around the stem.

Seed and the season's end

Saving seed1,3

Marigold crosses between varieties: keep 600 to 1,000 m between them, and pull out off type plants at the leafy stage and again at flowering.

When the seed is ready

Pick seed heads when the petals start to shrivel. Leave the small, poorly formed flowers.

Cleaning the seed

Dry the picked heads in the shade for 10 to 15 days, then in the sun for 1 to 2 days. Cleaned seed comes to about two fifths of the fresh flower weight.

Pack dry seed in plastic bags or other closed containers and keep it in a cool place. It stays good for about one to two years.

After the last pickingNo published guide covers this for the Cold desert, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

Pull the plants once picking falls off and compost the healthy ones. Take wilted or rotted plants off the field. The first frost ends the crop.

Pull the plants after the last picking and compost the healthy ones. Take plants that wilted or rotted at the collar off the field.

Rotation

Do not grow marigold on the same bed year after year; rotate it with a vegetable or a cereal.

Growing under coverNo published guide covers this for the Cold desert, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

Raise seedlings in a greenhouse or under polythene from April, and harden them off before planting out when the frosts are over.

Sources

Where this comes from

Our team has checked this guide against the sources at the end of the page.Reviewed by our team on 13 November 2026.

These published guides are the sources. Where none of them covers a detail for this region, the page shows an AI suggestion and labels it.

  1. 1Package of Practices: Cultivation of Flowers and Landscape Gardening 2020 (Marigold; seasonal flowers)Directorate of Extension, SKUAST-JammuRead the source
  2. 3Marigold crop pages: area, soil and climate, propagation, planting, manuring, irrigation, intercultural operations, harvesting and yield, pests, diseasesNational Horticulture Board, Government of IndiaRead the source
  3. 4TNAU Agritech Portal: Horticulture, flower crops, African marigoldTamil Nadu Agricultural University, CoimbatoreRead the source
  4. 7AESA based IPM package: Chillies and capsicumNational Institute of Plant Health Management and Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine and Storage, Government of IndiaRead the source

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