When startng any seeds, never over water, use sterile seed starting medium and also keep the pots from drying out. Here, I have very few losses of any kind when starting from seed, as I follow these simple rules. Some herbs are cool weather growers only. A good example is Cilantro. For a local nursery to carry a seasonal plant, they would have to get it from elsewhere. Many plnats in nurseries today come from Canada. The link below has this listed as a seed for THREE types.

Here is a link that might be useful: Richters

Down here in North Carolina - Calendula IS a cool season plant. Once the temps get hot and humid it dies down. There might be a few flowers lingering around the garden but looks its best in late March and throughout April.

Ksrogers, thanks for the reply. I think I have a problem discerning between not lettings something dry out, and overwatering. Advice on that would be most appreciated. If I started to grow them, again, how long would it take for them to reach maturity?

Also, I've received very conflicting info on what is "edible" in the Marigold family, and what is not. Any factual info on this?

Oh, and I'm very confused. I see the link you've provided, and read various description on Calendula Officinalis. The link you've sent describes many of what I've read. Others, describe the cluster marigolds that ths site shows:

http://www.parkseed.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StoreCatalogDisplay?storeId=10101&catalogId=10101&langId=-1&mainPage=prod2working&ItemId=0364&cid=ppp000576

So much confusion over this plant! Again, any info much appreciated :)

Try Exquesite Gardens in Patchogue if that is not too far from you.

Greetings from Western NY State! Unlike in N. Carolina, Calendula offinalis or pot marigold is a summer plant here in NY State that will continue blooming through the fall until you have hard frosts. They are easy to grow from seed - I generally start the seeds in situ. I get the seed from a variety of places including but not limited to:

Richters
Horizon Herbs
Nichols Garden Nursery
Pinetree Seeds
Johnny Seeds

FataMorgana

ps...there is a NYC forum and they may be able to offer some additional local shops.

There are organic pesticides used in insect control. Some are made of pyrethrins, which are in the marigold family. As to soil, I usually start with a soilless mix, which has a little perlite, and coconut husks ground up, with a little peat moss. Over watering can cause tender young plants to 'damp off', which is fungal infection at the soil and stem location. It attacks very young plants and strangles the the bases of the stems. Its usually caused by excessive watering at an early stage. I usually only water my seed starts when they show signs of slight wilting due to the soil being a little bit too dry. I also use some very mild fertilizers for starting seeds, as they need to get a good boost when they have the first set of true leaves. Plant Health Care is a powder fertilizer mixed with water, and is sold by Gardeners Supply in VT. I have seen some people use regular potting soil, or outside soil for starting seeds indoors. These all have some nasty fungus and bacteria that might harm tender seedlings, either by their roots or the stems. Also, Fungus Gnats are a damaging insect. Tiny flies that lay eggs in the soil, which turn into maggots and then they attack the roots and kill them. Sometimes young plants just die without warning. You may have these gnats, as they can fly and infest every single plant in a house, or greenhouse, as well as out in the garden.

This time of year, I start these seeds outdoors in pots of sterile seed starting mix, which reduces the damping off problem.

I have tried using those covered seed starting mini-greenhouses, but almost always have problems when using those.

The information on Floridata regarding Calendula is good. See link below:

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.floridata.com/ref/c/cale_off.cfm

I grew Calendula officinalis "Oktoberfest" from seed that I bought at Target in 2008. I had a bit of trouble getting them to germinate that year, but I think that is because I planted them in part-sun and they took a while to bloom. But in the fall they really got going and were very pretty.

Then in 2009 I direct seeded "Flashback" Calendulas from Peaceful Valley in a different spot and they did much better. I direct seeded them outside and they all germinated, blooming from early June through the 1st frost. They did bloom more when it was cool in the fall, but definitely had flowers all season.

I let the flowers dry on the plants, then squished them so the seeds fell all over the bed. This year I had sooooo many plants self-seed it was insane! I gave so many away and then still had to compost at least 50 plants. Too bad you weren't closer, I would have given them to you!

This year I'm going to squish some of the seed heads, but not all of them! Hopefully that will control it so I'll have to do a little less thinning next year.

The only problem I've had is what I believe is thrip damage - little white lines on the leaves. I put some beneficial nematodes in the soil this spring, and that seemed to help quite a bit.

Here's a pic of the bed on June 20th, 2010:

Let some flowers go to seed and collect the blossoms of the others. I use calendula blossoms to make a wonderful salve.

Here is a link that might be useful: PFAF - Calendula