Flower Gardens

» MarigoldBill - Saved Seeds No Blooms on Marigolds

We planted marigold seeds harvested from a last year, but the very nice plants that grew "DID NOT FLOWER". Does anyone know why?

-- posted by MarigoldBill

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» Cottage_Garden - Hybrid Seed Variation

In response to Marigolds posted by MarigoldBill:

Hi MarigoldBill! How disappointing!

Seed saving is an interesting process and sometimes can yield surprising results.

If you saved seeds from hybrid parents, the progeny will not be the same as the parents. In this case, it seems the good blooming capability of the parent plant was not passed along to the progeny.

It is still possible they may begin blooming as the season continues -- marigolds are actually perennial in warmer climates and some will take more time to reach blooming age.

Other reasons for marigolds to fail to bloom would include lack of sunlight along with overfertilizing -- but if you have grown marigolds successfully in the past then in this case I would blame the seeds.

If you want to grow marigolds from seed you could purchase a packet next spring, or if you want to save seed from year to year be sure to take it from an open pollinated variety rather than a hybrid.

-- posted by Cottage_Garden

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» Cottage_Garden - Seed Saving Basics for Flower Gardeners

In response to Hybrid Seed Variation posted by Cottage_Garden:

I have written a series of articles on seed saving, for anyone who is interested in giving it a try.

Basic Seed Saving for Flower Gardeners:

Saving Flower Seeds

Harvesting Flower Seeds to Save

How to Save and Store Flower Seeds

Please let me know if you have questions about seed saving!

-- posted by Cottage_Garden

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