Saving marigold seeds is one of the easiest ways to collect seeds from your garden. Marigolds were one of the first plants I learned to save seeds from. Once the flowers have finished blooming and the flower heads have dried, you can pull them apart and find dozens of seeds tucked inside.
I grow marigolds throughout our garden every year, and by late summer some flowers are still in full bloom while others are already starting to fade. Instead of deadheading all of them, I leave some of the spent flowers on the plants so I can save marigold seeds to plant again next year.
Marigolds are just one of several plants I collect seeds from each fall. I’ve put together 5 seeds every home gardener should be saving if you want to start saving more of your own seeds.
You don’t need any special equipment, and collecting the seeds only takes a few minutes. The most important part is knowing when the flower head is ready.
When to Save Marigold Seeds
You don’t want to pick the flower as soon as it starts to wilt.
I leave the spent flowers attached to the plant and let them continue drying naturally. The petals will shrivel and eventually the flower head will turn brown and feel dry.
You can see this happening throughout the season. Some of my marigolds can be completely dried while flowers on the same plant are still blooming.
You don’t have to wait for the entire plant to die or for the first frost. Once an individual flower head has dried, you can check it for mature seeds.
If the flower head is still soft or moist, I leave it on the plant a little longer.
What Does a Marigold Seed Head Look Like?
A marigold seed head that’s ready to harvest isn’t particularly pretty. The bright petals will have dried and shrivelled, and the base of the flower will be brown and dry.
This is what one of mine looked like when I collected it:
You may find seed heads at slightly different stages. What I’m looking for is a flower that has finished blooming and has had enough time to dry.
This is one reason I don’t deadhead every marigold in the garden toward the end of the season. I deliberately leave some of the flowers I like so they can finish producing seeds.
How to Save Marigold Seeds
Once you have a dry flower head, collecting the seeds is incredibly simple.
Pull the dried flower from the plant and gently break the flower head apart with your fingers. You don’t need scissors or any special seed-saving tools.
As you pull away the dried petals and flower material, you’ll find the seeds clustered together inside the base of the flower.
Pull them free and separate them from the larger pieces of dried plant material.
That’s really all there is to it.
Marigold seeds are long and narrow. The mature seeds I collect are predominantly dark or black with a lighter cream-coloured end, which makes them fairly easy to recognize once you’ve opened the flower.
You also get a surprising number of seeds from only a few flowers. Unless you’re trying to collect a huge quantity, there’s no need to let every flower on the plant go to seed.
Which Marigold Flowers Should You Save Seeds From?
I like to collect seeds from healthy plants that grew well and produced flowers I particularly liked.
For example, if one plant has particularly beautiful orange and red flowers, I’ll leave some of those flowers rather than deadheading them so I can collect their seeds later.
There is one thing to keep in mind, though. If you’re growing hybrid marigolds, plants grown from the saved seeds may not look exactly like the parent plant. Different varieties of marigolds growing close together can also cross-pollinate, so you may occasionally end up with flowers that look different from the ones you saved the seeds from.
For our garden, I don’t consider that much of a downside. I’m happy to plant the seeds and see what grows the following year.
Do Marigold Seeds Need to Dry Before Storing?
Yes. Before storing marigold seeds, I make sure they’re completely dry.
Even though I collect them from dried flower heads, I still like to spread the seeds out indoors for several days before putting them away. This gives any remaining moisture a chance to dry.
Once they’re completely dry, I put them into a paper envelope and label it with the type or colour of marigold and the year I collected the seeds.
Keep your saved seeds somewhere cool, dark and dry until you’re ready to plant them.
I use a similar process when I save basil seeds for next year’s garden, making sure the seeds are completely dry before putting them into storage.
How Long Can You Store Marigold Seeds?
Properly stored marigold seeds can remain viable beyond the following growing season, but I prefer to use mine the next spring whenever possible.
They’re so easy to collect that I don’t see much reason to build up a large supply of old seeds. I can collect fresh seeds every fall and start the process again the following year.
I also plant more than the exact number of marigolds I need because not every saved seed will necessarily germinate.
How to Save Marigold Seeds for Next Year
If your goal is simply to save marigold seeds for next year’s garden, the entire process comes down to a few steps:
- Leave some spent marigold flowers on the plant instead of deadheading them.
- Wait for the individual flower heads to turn brown and dry.
- Remove a dry flower head and gently pull it apart.
- Separate the long, dark seeds from the dried flower material.
- Let the seeds finish drying indoors for several days.
- Store them in a labelled paper envelope somewhere cool, dark and dry.
That’s it. One of the reasons I like saving marigold seeds is that there’s really no complicated process involved.
Saving Marigold Seeds Is Really That Easy
There are some garden seeds that require considerably more work to harvest and clean. Marigolds aren’t one of them.
Leave a few flowers on the plant, let the flower heads dry, pull them apart and collect the seeds inside. After letting the seeds dry completely, you can store them away for next year’s garden.
Once you know what a mature marigold seed head looks like, the entire process takes only a few minutes.
And considering how many seeds you can collect from just a few flowers, it’s an easy way to keep growing marigolds year after year without buying another packet of seeds.
