Growing Marigolds at Home From Seed

Posted by admin on March 2, 2009

Marigolds can be one of the most fun and rewarding annual plants to grow from seed at home.  Marigolds exhibit beautiful, brilliant yellow, orange, or red blooms.  They have compact bushy growth and can bloom for weeks to months.  Although marigolds can be planted from seed directly in the garden, I prefer to plant seeds in a sterile medium inside it the house in a window, in the basement under lights, or in the garden in trays.  This way once plants are large enough, they can be transplanted into the garden.  Marigolds are terrific for container gardening, sunny borders, or filling in empty areas between other plants.  Marigolds do not tolerate frost well so should be planted in the spring after danger of frost.  Marigolds like full sun.  Seeds can be planted 1/4″ in depth.  I generally plant marigolds seeds very close together and then thin them to between 1 inch to 12 inches apart.  The amount that you thin them will depend on how dense you want your marigolds to grow.  The marigolds in the photo, Happy Days Red, are planted very close together for a more impressive show.  Most marigolds bloom at a height of 3 inches to 12 inches. The marigolds in this photo are about three months old, from seed to bloom.