Starting marigolds from seed

[ChanellG]

I need to get some good seeds this time.

I save the seeds from the flowers after the blooms are spent. If I ever figure out where everything is I can send you some. Ever since the two moves for last year's renovation I can never find anything!

 

[IcyBC]

I had! They were wonderful for about two years but by the third year, they didn't do well or germinated at all. This year I bought new seeds and hopefully they will germinate and give me bushy and healthy ones

 

[grouie]

I had! They were wonderful for about two years but by the third year, they didn't do well or germinated at all. This year I bought new seeds and hopefully they will germinate and give me bushy and healthy ones

I have written a post about my marigolds here I think Just one seed germinated from the lot I had bought but this plant survived and yielded beautifully which in turn gave me a whole lot of seeds. They too yielded well but the third time I just see plants but no flowers. I will wait and plant again and see if timing does the trick.

 

[ChanellG]

I had! They were wonderful for about two years but by the third year, they didn't do well or germinated at all. This year I bought new seeds and hopefully they will germinate and give me bushy and healthy ones

I have never successfully germinated marigolds from seed. I think they must need cold stratification or something, but maybe one day I will be successful. I usually save the seed from my purchased plants, but marigolds are cheap so it's no huge worry.

 

[ChanellG]

I have written a post about my marigolds here I think Just one seed germinated from the lot I had bought but this plant survived and yielded beautifully which in turn gave me a whole lot of seeds. They too yielded well but the third time I just see plants but no flowers. I will wait and plant again and see if timing does the trick.

Grouie, if you germinated seed and a plant grew, maybe you just needed to fertilize it in order to get flowers. All my saved seed is old now so I guess I will compost it. The plants are easy enough to get in the spring and I can always find them marked down.

 

[grouie]

Grouie, if you germinated seed and a plant grew, maybe you just needed to fertilize it in order to get flowers. All my saved seed is old now so I guess I will compost it. The plants are easy enough to get in the spring and I can always find them marked down.

The seeds that were produced from that one plant yielded good results. It is the third lot which I think due to wrong timing did not yield

 

[ChanellG]

The seeds that were produced from that one plant yielded good results. It is the third lot which I think due to wrong timing did not yield

A third batch of seeds or a third planting from the same batch?

 

[LIcenter]

I have never successfully germinated marigolds from seed. I think they must need cold stratification or something, but maybe one day I will be successful. I usually save the seed from my purchased plants, but marigolds are cheap so it's no huge worry.

In the fall I pull all the seed heads, and just toss them into a bucket to dry thoroughly. In the spring I roll the heads between my fingers, and wind up with a ton of seeds. The ones that don't free themselves easily from the husk gets tossed. When planting they only need a very fine layer of dirt on top to get them going. Water lightly like you would when you plant lawn seed twice a day until they have true leaves. Then water a little heavier when needed.

 

[grouie]

A third batch of seeds or a third planting from the same batch?

The grand daughter (lol)

 

[headfullofbees]

Marigold seeds have a sharp end.
I have found that I get hugely better germination when I stick that end into the growing medium so that they stand up straight.
Don't know why, but nature usually designs things for a reason.

 

[ChanellG]

Marigold seeds have a sharp end.
I have found that I get hugely better germination when I stick that end into the growing medium so that they stand up straight.
Don't know why, but nature usually designs things for a reason.

I can never remember which end to stand up, lol. The next time I have a seed head on one of my plants I will have to give that technique a try. One can never have too many marigold plants!

 

[LouisFerdinand]

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Keeping it dry can be important with saving seed, a paper packet in a good dry place, or even put them in the freezer 'til you need them.