How to Save Marigold Seeds for Next Year 🌼, by Cynthia on YouTube. 1 min 29 s.
- Video length
- 1 min 29 s
- Time to do it
- 15 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 8
What you need
Steps
Pick the healthiest marigold plants with the flower colour and size you want next year. If you want the seeds to grow true to the parent, choose open-pollinated varieties rather than hybrids.
Leave a few spent flower heads on the plant instead of deadheading them. Let them turn brown, papery and completely dry before you pick them.
Test one head: it should feel dry and papery, and the seeds inside should be dark and firm. A flower that has only just faded is not ready.
If you deadhead to keep plants tidy, cut older, mature spent blooms rather than fresh ones. Finish drying them indoors in a dry, well-ventilated spot.
Hold a dry head over a bowl or paper plate and pull the petals and base apart with your fingers. The seeds are the long, dark, needle-shaped pieces attached at the base.
Spread the seeds in a single layer on a paper plate and leave them a few more days in a dry, airy place. Never seal damp seeds in a container.
Pick out the plump, dark, firm seeds and drop the chaff. You do not need to keep every seed, since one head can hold around 79 of them.
Write the variety and the year on a paper envelope, add the dry seeds, and store them somewhere cool, dark and dry until spring.
Tips and common mistakes
Damp flower heads sealed in a jar or bag will rot, so dry everything fully first.
Expect surprises from hybrid marigolds, which may not look like the parent plant.
Nearby varieties can cross-pollinate, so seeds may give a different flower colour.
Share your extra seeds with friends and neighbours instead of keeping them all.
Questions
How do I know marigold seeds are ready to harvest?
The flower head should be brown, papery and fully dry, and the seeds inside should be dark and firm. If the head still feels soft or the seeds are pale, give them more time.
Can I save seeds from hybrid marigolds?
You can, but the plants may not grow true to the parent. Open-pollinated varieties give you a better chance of the same flower next year.
How should I store marigold seeds?
Keep them in a labelled paper envelope in a cool, dark, dry place. Paper lets any last moisture escape, which a sealed plastic bag does not.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
