Okay. Planted calendula (NOT marigold) last spring. They did OK, then died in the summer heat, came up a little bit in the fall, and now I have a couple of beautiful patches. I want to harvest the seeds, but I also want to cut the flowers so they'll keep blooming. This morning I cut some spent blooms, but the seeds were still green. If I let them dry on the kitchen counter, will they be viable seeds? Or do they have to ripen on the plant? Usually I'll just roll my finger over the seeds and if they fall off easily I figure they're ripe.
Any advice would be most welcome. I hope to use them to dye some wool if I can get enough to grow.
calendula question seed viability
Brigidlily, my calendula will bloom all summer and into fall here in zone 5. I have found the green seeds are not viable, they need to mature a bit on the plant. I cut off blooms and use them all season. Towards the end of the growing time (and they withstand light frosts very well), I quit cutting so the flowers can produce the seeds and mature. You might try cutting some and letting a few plants go to seed. I love calendula!
Seeds have to dry on the plants to be viable......
I was thinking about how the wild calendulas pop up along the roadsides in spain and bloom some in the fall.. then even one or two on a warm winter day might be found, but are everywhere in spring- but you don't see them much in the heat of the summer. Brigidlily- they may be almost perennial in your climate- and they certainly would also self-seed if you let them.
I'm in 8b too and they selfsow.....
I do believe the ones blooming now are self-sown. And thanks for the advice (which I anticipated) -- I'll let some ripen on the plant for the seeds, and the spent blooms I've cut... well... I guess I'll compost those.
herbalbetty, that's such a beautiful bloom! Mine are either pure yellow or pure orange. I couldn't pick a favorite if I had to -- they're all so pretty!
Tuink, it's so odd to think Texas and the Netherlands are anywhere NEAR the same growing zone!
sjms, now that you bring it up, it's a lot like Spain right where I am, though of course no altitude (I think I may be 15' above sea level). I hope my sunflowers will do what the girasoles do in Spain! Just gorgeous.
I've made the sweetest little arrangements of calendula and chamomile -- very pretty. Thank y'all so much for the input!
Good combination: both are beneficial and can be used to make a herbal infusion......
PS
It's indeed strange we're in the same zone. Must have to do with the AVERAGE temperature. And we're a couple of meters BELOW sea level.....
Calendula is a good winter grower here.
I don't think it'll winter sow here in zone 6,but it was really hardy last fall.I had calendula blooming well after the first few frosts.
brigidlily- I was thinking it might be a bit like spain where you live! The wild herbs there (we lived west of Barcelona in the hills) were wonderful- calendulas and borage on the roadsides, lavender, rosemary, thyme in the hills- always something to add to your picnic to spice it up! I imagine your sunflowers will be beautiful!
I surely hope so, though I believe it's more humid here. My sister lives in Madrid, and driving from there down to Jerez was just stunning because of the sunflowers. I plan to go this year and will make her take me on a hike to see what we can find out in the wilds.
(Especially now that I know more about gathering seeds... heh heh heh...)
how nice that you can go again- The madrid area is more dry than where we were- but i'm sure some of the same herbs are there too.