How to save seed from calendula

1. Let flowers go to seed

To save seed, you’ll need to let some flowers go past prime towards the end of the growing season.

• When: A few weeks before your first frost, hold back on harvesting some of your calendula blooms.
• What to look for: The petals will fall off to reveal a greenish seedpod. Let that seedpod dry out on the plant until it turns brown and isn’t sticky to the touch.

Tip: It will take a couple of weeks for the seeds to go from green to brown. Be patient, as green seeds likely will not be viable.

2. Harvesting the Seeds

Tip: Each individual “curl” is 1 seed. Since they are large, I think they are some of the easiest seeds to work with!

• How to Tell lf They're Ready: Calendula seeds are ready to harvest when there are no petals left on the seed head, and the seeds are brown and dry instead of green and moist. Look for seeds that don't have any mildew on them.
• Best Practices: For best results, gather your seeds on a sunny day when there has been no rain for 48 hours.
• How to Harvest: Harvest the seeds by removing the whole seed head.
• Mix it Up: For best results with genetic diversity, save seeds from different calendula plants in your garden. I like to mix and match varieties, but you can also be mindful of separating your seeds from different cultivars too.

3. Drying Seeds

Tip: Spread the seed heads out as much as you can so that they get good air circulation

• Optional: Let the seed heads dry out in a well ventilated area for around 1 week. For this step, I still have the seed heads in tact.

If you've had a dry week with no rain, you can likely skip this step.

4. Sorting and Storing

Tip: Take a couple of seeds from each plant so that you encourage genetic diversity

• Open Seed Heads: Break open the dried seed heads to get the seeds - the crescent shaped parts are what you're looking for.
• Strategy: If you only need 20-30 seeds, I recommend taking a couple of seeds from each seed head so that you have a nice mix of genetics. You can always scatter the remaining seeds somewhere where you wouldn't mind them growing next year to see what happens.
• Store + Label: Then, store the seeds in envelopes in a cool and dry location. Label them with the variety/varieties, date, and any other details that will help you next year. I usually use regular letter envelopes for this but you can also get small envelops that are a bit easier to store.

Plant them out next year after your last frost. You’ll probably also have some “surprise” calendula plants coming up in your garden to add to the fun!

Have a look at my guide on how I start calendula plants from seed

What to Know if This is Your First Year Growing Calendula

Calendula will likely self-sow in your garden

If you leave calendula to its own devices, it will likely act like a perennial in your garden - it's a notorious self-seeder.

Sometimes, I have plans for an area where the flower has sown itself. While there are instances where I can just plant around them, there are other times when I need to pull the seedlings up.

For this reason, it's a good idea to save some seeds from your favorite calendula plants so that you can intentionally grow them where you want year after year.

Do Different Calendula Varieties Cross-Pollinate?

Calendula cultivars will cross pollinate quite easily. That's actually how Frank Morton of Wild Garden Seeds was able to create such stunning colors in the calendula varieties that he created, like Strawberry Blonde, Solar Flashback, and Triangle Flashback.

In my garden, I do my best to keep my medicinal orange and yellow blooming plants separate from my more ornamental varieties. When I save seeds, I'm sure to label which group I have. In this way, I'm sure to get some flowers growing to use in teas and herbal remedies, and I let the colorful groups interbreed to see what comes up next year.

This also means that you can select for different aesthetic features each year - maybe you want more pinks and less yellows, or longer stems for bouquets.

Mark Your Favorites

Do you have a calendula plant that is absolutely stunning? While it will be easy to spot among your other calendula plants when it's in bloom, it will be harder to differentiate when the flower is past.

Mark your chosen plants by simply tying some twine around the stem - similar to tying a string around your finger to remind you of something.

You can also put a stick in the ground next to the plant you want to save, or cut back any plants that you don't want to save seeds from.

Calendula Flowers: A plethora of benefits

Calendula is far more than just a pretty addition to the garden. It’s a dream for regenerative or permaculture gardeners. It has healing properties for the herbalist, soil health support for the regenerative gardener, and pest control for the organic advocate.

If you are looking for a new plant to add biodiversity and vibrance into your garden, look no further than Calendula officinalis.