My goal today is to share one of my favorite herbs to as many people as I can because I want everyone to get to enjoy this amazing plant. There are so many things to love about Mexican Mint Marigold, you may be making plans to hit Rainbow Gardens sooner than you planned, and that is A-OK with me. Here we go!
If you’ve tried growing French tarragon in our San Antonio climate, it’s probably proved to be quite difficult. It doesn’t work very well. but we have a designated Texas Superstar® plant that happens to be a fabulous substitute.
Mexican Mint Marigold fits right into our San Antonio weather and handles the humidity and hot summers just fine. It produces an abundance of flavorful, leaves that provide that fabulous, soft anise, tarragon flavor that can elevate a chicken salad to WOW level. You’ll find the leaves to be, more plentiful and larger than traditional tarragon leaves. They are delicious both fresh or dried.
This Texas Smartscape Superstar® plant looks gorgeous in the landscape (or in containers) AND lures in the pollinators with its golden-yellow flowers. Let’s take a quick look at Mexican Mint Marigold below and then I’ll fill you in on a few more details about this fabulous herb.
Quick Look at Mexican Mint Marigold
Mexican Mint Marigold (Tagetes lucida)
- Type: Perennial Herb/Deciduous
- Average Growth: 2’ tall x 3 ‘ wide
- Sun Requirement: Full sun to part shade
- Soil Preference: Slightly acidic, well-draining
- Water Requirement: Low to medium
- Bloom Time: Fall
- Bloom Color: Golden yellow
- Other Top Qualities: Pollinator Attractor, Deer Resistant, Tarragon Substitute
More about Mexican Mint Marigold
When looking for Mexican Mint Marigold in garden nurseries (hopefully you are looking at Rainbow Gardens), some other names you may find it under are: Texas Tarragon, Spanish Tarragon, or Mexican Tarragon and even False Tarragon. This herbaceous, semi-woody plant is in the marigold family, and one look at the blooms helps you see why. The golden-yellow flowers that appear most profusely late summer to fall, look very much like a more miniature version of French marigolds.
The fragrance and taste of the leaves are a fresh, soft anise (licorice). Before you turn your nose up if you don’t like licorice, this is such a light flavor of anise, that you need to try it before you say no. I don’t like licorice, and I LOVE the flavor of Mexican Mint Tarragon. Once the stalks of the herb reach at least 6” in height, you can harvest the leaves and begin elevating your chicken salad recipes, herbed vinegars, lemon butters, sauces, salads, basically anything can be enhanced with some chopped up Mexican Mint Marigold. There is an almond tarragon cake and a lemon tarragon quick bread recipe that I have been wanting to try using Mexican Mint Marigold. I’ll let you know how they turn out!
Let’s talk about planting Mexican Mint Marigold. While this herb is not overly picky about soil as long as it drains great, I think it does best in soil that has been amended with plenty of organic matter (most plants do). When planting multiple transplants, plant about 3’ apart. This allows the plant to reach its maximum growth potential while providing space for adequate air circulation. Lack of air circulation, along with watering from the top, can lead to issues with powdery mildew (always water the base of the plant).
You’ll need to make sure you are watering regularly after you first plant Mexican Mint Marigold, but once established, it is pretty drought tolerant. Through summer, you may have to give it some extra water, just like many other plants trying to survive Texas summers. Mexican Mint Marigold also looks great in containers, just keep in mind that containers always need a little more water attention than specimens planted in the ground.
As far as winter care, you can prep for that by mulching around the plant in fall. The plant will most likely die back to the ground after a hard freeze, but the mulch will help keep the underground root system protected. Trim back the plant in early spring (even if it doesn’t die to the ground) and get ready to enjoy it all over again.
I need to hurry up and talk to you about Mexican Mint Marigold and pollinators! Those cheerful, golden-yellow/orange flowers pop out at a very opportune time in San Antonio. Fall brings the migrating pollinators through our city and it also brings the blooms on Mexican Mint Marigold. The flowers are full of nectar and hungry butterflies make a beeline for them; bees make a beeline too, but that’s a given! Although the big showtime is late summer to fall for these flowers, they can bloom sporadically through the year. I have some blooming in my herb garden right now!
Speaking of herb gardens, while I definitely recommend including Mexican Mint Marigold in them, I also think they deserve a prime spot in your perennial gardens too. The foliage is slender and beautiful so they compliment other perennials. You don’t have to have a designated herb garden to enjoy herbs, they can nestle in right at home most anywhere in your landscape. Container gardens and rock gardens are perfect too. I think you’re picking up what I’m laying down here. Mexican Mint Marigold can go pretty much anywhere.
Ready to give it a try? Hope so!
~The Happy Gardener, Lisa Mulroy
Are all parts of Mexican marigold edible?
I found 2 last year on a reduced rack, and now they are doing fabulous in my garden. Need to trim back so was wondering about the edible parts
Hi Robert,
Mexican Mint Marigold is one of my favorite plants! Both the leaves and the flowers are edible. If you need to trim back, do so now or late spring so that the plant can produce beautiful foliage through spring and then produce flowers late summer and fall.
Have beautiful mint Mary Gold which are blooming beautifully now.
When is best cut them, can I dry the leaves to use in salads Ect. Had Mexican terrangon
And I dry the leaves put in salt shakes and use in salads eggs .can I do the same with Mary gold mints ?
Hi Rosie,
You can harvest leaves from Mexican Mint Marigold anytime, but if you harvest in the morning, the oils are stronger. As far as pruning back, I would wait until early spring after the threat of frost has passed. Yes, you can use this herb just like Tarragon. It is delicious in chicken salads and eggs and anything else you would use tarragon for You can use it fresh or dried. Enjoy!
What looks a lot like this, but gets about 5 feet in height, leaves a bit shorter and more broad, smooth, and while the flower heads smell sweet, the leaves don’t have much scent at all. I didn’t catch them while actually blooming, but they are small and bright yellow. Stems are the dark, reddish purple and break without snapping.
Hi Rene’
Two plants come to mind without being able to see a picture of them. Click the links to see pics and learn a littel about the plants. Would you may be thinking of thrylallis?
or perhaps
Forsythia? Both of these plants have flowers with a subtle but sweet fragrance, and the reddish stems fit the bill. Please let me know if either of these are what you are trying to identify, because now I am curious!
Neither thrylallis nor fosythia. I am quite familiar with both. This plant is not the least bit woody, nor is it a shrub. The leaves are only slightly different than Mexican tarragon, but still the lance-shape, shiny, and thin and tender.
Perhaps a lance-leaf coreopsis? I’m in the process of trying to get an option for customers to attach a photo through the blog section for plant ID, but we don’t have it implemented yet. You could send a photo through our Contact Us area on our FAQs page and that may help with identification.