Question
HI THERE

IF I START SEEDS FROM MY OWN DEADHEAD MARIGOLD,HOW MANY FLOWERS COULD I EXPECT TO GET FROM JUST ONE.  IN OTHER WORDS:  HOW MANY SEEDS ARE INSIDE THE AVERAGE MARIGOLD ?   THANKS.

Answer
Hi Michelle,
I don't know if you got my last reply because my computer stopped working. If not here is (another) message:

Take a look at this website:
http://photobucket.com/albums/v311/lilium/Marigold/

(photo album)

copy/paste above link into your browser and click on the blue "slideshow" button.

Picture 1: a marigold seed head (dried flower) showing number of seeds.

You can also see the invidual seeds (pictures 2/3). To plant them simply stick them into moist potting soil (black end down) and keep warm for 7-21 days.

Each dried flower contain 15-20 seeds and technically you can expect to get 1 flower from each seed. This means, if you keep one dried flower head, you can get 15-20 plants, or if not all germinate (sprout) then somewhat less.

Once you plant them, they should sprout in 7-21 days if kept warm (slightly warmer than room temperature).

Do not plant outdoors until after last frost, but you can pre-sprout them indoors if you like in small pots in a sunny window.

Note:
2 type of marigolds:
french or dwarf: will sprout from harvest seeds in most cases

amrican / african: will typically not sprout from harvested seeds.

dwarf marigolds are 6-12" tall plants with flowers which are 1/2 -2" in diameter (the plants on the above website are french marigolds, e.g. tagetes).

American or "African" marigolds are plants 24-36" tall with much larger flowers (6-10" dimater). These seldom have viable seeds.

Good luck.
enjoy the slide show.

-- Kenneth