U.S. #2832
29¢ Marigold
Summer Garden Flowers
Issue Date: April 28, 1994
City: Cincinnati, OH
Quantity: 166,014,000
Printed By: Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Printing Method: Lithographed and engraved
Perforations: 11.9 vertically
Color: Multicolored
Marigolds are among the most popular flowers in American gardens. Exceedingly easy to grow, they reward gardeners with immense quantities of color, creating natural borders for walkways and gardens. They range in color from near white through vivid yellows and oranges to reddish browns and generally grow from twelve inches to over three feet in height.
Marigolds descended from a wild Mexican species and were brought to Europe in the 1500’s by Spanish explorers. Through the years they have been hybridized and developed to produce four different types - African or Aztec marigolds, French marigolds, African-French hybrids, and dwarf marigolds.
Massed alone or mixed with other flowers, marigolds show off their vivid beauty in beds, borders, and terrace pots. And their bright colors and long life make them ideal as cut flowers. But their versatility goes beyond the garden. In Mexico, acres of marigolds are grown for chicken feed. When the blossoms are fed to hens, they produce eggs with the dark yellow yolks Mexican housewives demand. And because of the pungent oil they produce, many gardeners use marigolds as a natural repellent against nematodes, small parasitic worms that live on plant roots.