How To Grow Corn Marigold

Family: Asteraceae
Height: 50 cm
Spread: 30cm
Attracts: Butterflies, bees, other pollinators but especially beetles
Colour: Yellow
Foliage: Green

Position: Full sun
Aspect: South facing, west facing
Position in border: Middle

The botanical name Glebionis segetum has recently been changed from Chrysanthemum Segetum.

Corn marigolds are great for bees and other insects, I have seen butterflies and moths on them but they do seem to be loved by many beetles.  These bright yellow flowers were also once abundant in cornfields throughout Britain, but are now a rare sight and have been added to the amber list of endangered plants.

The corn marigold is an annual flower, but it can also be a short-lived biennial if sown later in the summer in milder areas to bloom the following year.  The flowers are single and daisy-like in form and 5cm across, sitting singly on fleshy green stems.  The leaves are long, mid green to blue-green in colour, and divided in shape.  They flower throughout the summer and usually continue flowering into early autumn in my garden in Suffolk.

I included corn marigolds (chrysanthemum segetum) in my garden as I love the bright yellow colour, and I also love seeing all the different beetles all over them.  I tend to throw the seeds directly onto the soil in a sunny spot from March through to May and do little else and they always flower.  They like most free-draining soils apart from those which are alkaline (containing lime).  They usually self seed to come back in the following year, but they are not considered an invasive plant as the seedlings are easy to pull up and add to compost.  Once the seed heads have dried you can collect the seeds and store them away in a dark dry place and sow them in the following spring. 

I love the pop of bright yellow they give throughout my flower beds, which looks great next to oxeye daisies, cornflowers, poppies and purple salvias.

Where can corn marigolds be found

This wild flower usually pops up as an arable weed, but it can also be found on other disturbed sites such as rubbish tips, road verges, waste ground and even over-grazed pastures.  It has a patchy distribution across the UK.

You can buy wildflower Corn Marigold seed from my website.  It makes a beautiful addition to any garden, it self seeds and is loved by pollinators.