Marigolds are outdoor flowers capable of surviving during the cold winter months as long as you properly prepare the ground for the cold season. A properly prepared garden has plenty of mulch to ensure the marigolds retain their moisture throughout the winter, which leads to flowering during the summer.

What do you do with marigolds in the winter?

Annual marigolds are frost-tender, and they'll die in late fall after temperatures drop below freezing. Cut back the marigolds to the ground with clean shears, or simply pull them up roots and all, after they die back completely. Remove the trimmings from the bed so they don't harbor pests over winter.

Do marigolds come back year after year?

The popular types of marigolds for garden planting are all annuals, sprouting, flowering – and dying in the same year. But they may come back the following year thanks to self-seeding.