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Originally Posted by My Foot Smells
Interesting. I do plant marigolds but thought all the talk was wife tale. I use them as a watering gauge.
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I don't think the evidence is stronger than "try it, it might help and probably won't hurt" level, but there is some reason to believe that marigolds may deter some pests. But the problem is -- not all marigolds.
I've wondered whether the difference may have originated with David Burpee's production of scentless or low scent marigolds in the mid 20th century, as part of his campaign to get the marigold named our national flower.
I suspect that older varieties, and more strongly "marigold smelling" varieties, may be effective in some situations, while many newer (as in developed within the past seventy or eighty years) and lower scented marigolds may be mostly decoration.
There is one variety sold as "guardian marigolds" which may be an older strain -- or may just be an attempt to sell something to those looking for a varmint vanquisher. I have seed that I'm going to try sometime but haven't grown them as yet. (No evidence at all, I fear, that they repel voles.) But there were many varieties of older marigolds, some both smelly and decorative, some of them must still be around.