Artificial Marigolds

Yes — and increasingly common. The cempasúchil marigold's role is to lay a path of color from the street to the ofrenda, and fresh stems flood the market only in the late-October weeks; artificial garlands and stems let families build that path on their own calendar, hold the color through the full observance, and keep the pieces for next year alongside the photographs and candles. What silk does not carry is the scent — families who burn cempasúchil or lay fresh for fragrance still do; the permanent pieces carry the form and the color, which is the role they are asked to play.

Roughly a week in water, less in warm rooms — and cut marigolds drop petals and heads as they fade, which is why festival builds made from fresh stems are done the day before at the earliest. The artificial pompon holds its round through the whole season, boxes flat in November, and comes out the same next year — the reuse math that makes a one-time garland purchase cheaper than the annual fresh habit.

Stated in every title, counted flat on the card: bushes run six to ten heads per piece, single stems carry one pompon, and garlands state both their strung length (4–6 feet) and their head count. The count you read at checkout is the count that arrives — no garlands photographed double-wrapped to look denser than the listing sells. For event budgeting, a six-foot garland typically carries forty-plus heads — the count, not the length, is what fills a frame.

About two minutes per piece. Work around each head once, ruffling the packed petals outward layer by layer from the center — the ruffle is what makes it read as a marigold rather than a ball. Garlands need only a gentle shake-out and a check that no head is folded under. A shaping card with photos ships in every box, and the same steps appear on the product page.