How to Grow Calendula from Seed

 

Calendula plants have beautiful, bright orange and yellow flowers that can add charm and cheer to beds and containers. The Calendula plants are also known as pot marigold or English marigold, the plant is edible and it also has some medicinal uses. With just a little extra effort you can easily propagate and grow Calendula plants from seed.

        

How to Grow Calendula from Seed

Actually, growing calendula plant is very easy, as the plant tolerate a lot of different conditions. Calendula plant likes full sun or partial shade and it also prefers well-drained soil, and it tolerates frost and colder temperatures. Calendula plant is deer resistant and the plant tolerates poor quality soil. Collecting and sowing the calendula seeds is very easy and it worth the effort to keep enjoying the plant season after season without buying transplants. After the blooms have passed the plant will produce seed heads, which if left alone will lead to self-propagation and volunteer plant growth. To actually keep your beds tidy, just trim off most of the seed heads. The self-propagation can be aggressive. You can cut off spent flowers quickly, as the seed heads develop soon after the bloom is gone. Trim them off just above the next flower bud. You can leave a few to self-propagate or to develop fully for collection and sowing. The Calendula seeds develop as light brown to gray, long, and curved seeds that grow in a circle around the center of the flower. Simply collect these and save for sowing later.  

 

Sowing Calendula Seeds

Calendula plants grow easily and readily from seed, but there are a couple of important considerations when sowing the seeds. The first is that these cold-tolerant plants will grow weaker and smaller if you sow the seeds during warm weather. If you are sowing directly outdoors, just put them in the ground a couple of weeks before you expect the last frost. The second important factor to note when planting the calendula seeds is that light will disrupt the germination of the seeds. Make sure you cover the Calendula seeds with soil to a depth of about 1 ¼ to 1 ½ inch (6 mm. to 1 cm.).  

Sowing the Calendula seeds in spring is the typical time for the seed propagation, but you can do it again in the summer to get more fall blooms. The Calendula plants may be weaker due to the hotter temperatures, but the plants will still give you extended flowering.