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Marigold seeds won’t germinate

thomas.c1Xayd5Vs0thomas.c1Xayd5Vs0 Posts: 4
in Problem solving
Can anyone advise the most sure-fire way to ensure marigold germination? So far I have had zero success and ended up just buying the plants instead but I still have a ton of seeds so want to know how to get it right for next year please
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Posts

  • PosyPosy Posts: 3,601
    That's a mystery. They pop up all over my garden.
  • thomas.c1Xayd5Vs0thomas.c1Xayd5Vs0 Posts: 4
     :s 
    What am I doing wrong? I stick ‘em in the seed trays with loads of strong light, water appropriately…. then nothing. 
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    I presume we’re talking about Calendula, the hardy Pot Marigold?

    I’d just direct sow in the ground or in a seed tray in a coldframe. They don’t need and don’t like lots of fuss. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • Desi_in_LondonDesi_in_London Posts: 731
    French marigolds ( tagetes patula) aren't hardy but I find them very easy to germinate ( indoors). Slow to grow beyond the seed leaf stage and I found it hard to adjust to the fact when i first started that some seeds just take a lot longer to wake up than the packet says ( or indeed varying speeds within the same batch) so I invariably leave things now for a lot longer than the theoretical germination timeframe than when i first started out. Calendula seems to take a lot longer for me ( i don't have any grown up plants  that self seed) but germinate ok ( but usually die a sluggy death thereafter).

    Only other thing I can think is you are over-watering and rotting the seed?
    Kindness is always the right choice.
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    Are you using peat free compost?
    Devon.
  • thomas.c1Xayd5Vs0thomas.c1Xayd5Vs0 Posts: 4
    Hostafan1 said:
    Are you using peat free compost?
    It’s seed & cutting compost with a high peat content. I’ve used this for everything and the marigolds are the only seeds not doing what they should. What do you think?
  • thomas.c1Xayd5Vs0thomas.c1Xayd5Vs0 Posts: 4
    Desi_in_London said:
    French marigolds ( tagetes patula) aren't hardy but I find them very easy to germinate ( indoors). Slow to grow beyond the seed leaf stage and I found it hard to adjust to the fact when i first started that some seeds just take a lot longer to wake up than the packet says ( or indeed varying speeds within the same batch) so I invariably leave things now for a lot longer than the theoretical germination timeframe than when i first started out. Calendula seems to take a lot longer for me ( i don't have any grown up plants  that self seed) but germinate ok ( but usually die a sluggy death thereafter).

    Only other thing I can think is you are over-watering and rotting the seed?
    French marigolds. Perhaps I haven’t been patient enough. By this logic though, how long is too long?
  • Desi_in_LondonDesi_in_London Posts: 731
    Assuming you are only lightly covering the seed so they aren't too deep , and the potting medium isn't waterlogged, then I'd give it say 3 weeks . If nothing has germinated in that time, then you either have old seeds or somehow storage hasn't been correct , ( or if its self-collected seed then perhaps they were not for some reason mature enough when collected). 

    Assuming it is bought seed with instructions on the packet, I'd give it up to 50% more time than it says to germination. 
    Kindness is always the right choice.
  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
    I have some French Marigolds that were sown 17th  May , the first "true" leaves are just appearing and they're only about an inch high.
    They are in a cold frame as they were trashed by a blackbird first time round and l had to replant them.
    I've no idea if it's the cold weather we've been having, or it's just what they do. I'm growing them for my MIL so not my usual thing.
  • Desi_in_LondonDesi_in_London Posts: 731
    @AnniD - for what it's worth I always find true leaves take ages with french marigolds , but seed leaves generally appear within a week for the faster ones and perhaps 2-3 weeks for the laggards. I do occasionally find once i have given up on any residual germination  without  emptying/ cleaning it straight away i return a week later to find assorted half-wilted seedlings. 
    Kindness is always the right choice.
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