Expert: C.L. Fornari - 5/14/2008

Question
HI, i just had a question about marigolds.  I grew tons of marigolds by seed this year and some of them have cricked stems.  i was just wondering, Can i burry the cricked part of the stem?  Will it toot or will it kill the plant?  Thanks

Answer
Dustin,
Not sure what you mean by cricked stems unless you are talking about the stem being bent?  I'm assuming that you are. If the stem is bent above three or four sets of leaves just cut the stem off right under the bent area. The marigold will sprout new shoots from the places where the leaves join the stem and will develop just fine.  If the bent part is close to the soil level you could try planting it deeper and covering that part with soil, but it may not be successful.  The plants might root but marigolds aren't famous for developing roots from stems, like Tomatoes do.  If it's just a couple you might try it but if you want to be sure the plants do well, either throw those out or clip the bent part off.

all the best,
C.L.