Your marigold seeds: two important nuances when collecting them

When the club blooms with lush bouquets, you immediately want to see such a charm on your site next year. However, harvesting their seeds marigolds, it is important to consider two points: hybridization and the possibility of cross-pollination. Without understanding the essence of the processes that take place in plants, it is impossible to grow a beautiful, luxurious front garden.

Secrets that hold their marigold seeds

Sowing large-flowered and tall varieties, the gardener dreams of getting presentable exhibits. However, reality only shows a pitiful resemblance to their predecessors. One reason for this fiasco is the ability of herbaceous plants to pollinate with neighboring crops. So, collecting seeds at a later period, and then planting them, the grower receives an "alien" specimen. Instead of a compact bush with full buds, an incredible giant with small flowers grows.

Understanding the above, you need to be careful about group plantings. This is especially true of the neighborhood of varieties that have the most opposite characteristics.

Nevertheless, there are times when all the landing rules are followed, and the result is still terrifying. Then the reason lies in hybridization. The principle of the process is that when breeders start crossing varieties, they choose them based on:

• bright colors;
• compactness of the bush;
• density / splendor of inflorescences (some of them can be up to 10 cm in diameter);
• culture endurance.

Successful selection of the parental line is important for scientists. As a result, such hybrids give, but only in the first generation, a combination of all the listed characteristics. If you further propagate these marigolds with your own seeds, then each of the features will go to a separate seedling. As soon as the owner begins to breed seedlings, the variegation of this front garden immediately becomes obvious:

• one part of the bushes is short and with small flowers;
• others are too stretched, but at the same time they have only a few lush buds on the branches;
• others are very dense foliage.

But the material is taken from one source. Therefore, gardeners unanimously recommend not breeding hybrid specimens using seeds from previous seasons. Agronomists advise choosing ordinary varieties for planting such a plan.

When to collect planting material?

This is one of the most important questions. The procedure is carried out before the onset of frost. Fluctuations in temperature and humidity have a negative effect on crop germination. When the snow melts and a thaw begins, and then a cold snap again, then the seeds begin a period of exhaustion. Therefore, it is better to carry out harvesting in dry, sunny weather. If bad weather suddenly overtook the region, then the collected seeds should be dried and packed in a paper envelope. They store it in the attic or in the closet, where there is no dampness.

How to identify hybrids? Simple enough. Pay attention to the packaging. The "F1" designation indicates that the variety was bred by crossing. That's why sometimes you don't need to throw away the bag.

So, you need to use your marigold seeds wisely. Pollination and hybridization will not allow the gardener to get luxurious seedlings.