Alumia Vanilla Cream Marigold Seeds

The culmination of a lifetime of superior breeding, Alumia is a French Marigold series from David Lemon, the premier breeder in the world today. Mr. Lemon put 50 years of experience to work in creating a large-flowered, strong-stemmed, utterly lovely anemone-flowered series of marigolds that will all reach the same height and bloom at the same time in garden or container. And Vanilla Cream is the showpiece of the series, sporting a never-before-seen hue of pale primrose-yellow in the central cluster of petals, surrounded by lighter cream petals. Spectacular.There has never been a pure white marigold, and Vanilla Cream wisely does not try for that. Instead, it's a new look for the palest of yellows and the milkiest of creams. The anemone form gives these blooms a two-tone look, because the shorter petals in the center are clustered together, creating a darker effect than the surrounding wide-open petals. These flowers reach 2 to 2½ inches wide, and face straight up, giving you the maximum color show in garden and container.And you can expect the Alumias to outlast many other marigolds in bloom strength, too. They were bred with stronger stems, so the flowers simply hold up longer. That means a better show with less deadheading for you.This plant reaches 10 to 12 inches high and about 6 to 8 inches wide, with fresh dark green foliage held beneath the blooms. When you want to grow the very best, turn to Alumia.Very easy to grow in the sunny garden, vegetable patch, and containers, Alumia makes a terrific choice for a child's first seed-starting experience, too. It is also an absolutely indispensable companion to tomatoes, for its roots contain a chemical that kills root-knot nematodes, one of the most destructive soil-borne tomato plant pests.Sow direct in the garden when the soil has warmed, or start seeds indoors in late winter. (The seeds are large and irregular, but don't worry about setting them any certain way into the soil or your Bio Dome. They will make themselves at home and grow promptly no matter how they are placed.) The seeds germinate in 7 to 21 days, and the young seedlings grow quickly. Transplant, if necessary, anytime after they have 2 sets of true leaves. Be sure to grow in full direct sunshine for best flowering.