We have no way of really helping you solve the problem without knowing a whole lot more about how you've been growing these plants. I can tell you that 3 months is a very long time to hold marigold in the pot before selling, but it can certainly be done if the sunlight, watering regime, and fertilizing is well balanced.

The fact that you are now just fertilizing them is a likely clue, as bedding plants, grown in a peat-based medium, MUST have their nutritional requirements met by you. They will get nothing from the planting medium.

Without more information about the temperatures they've been experiencing, the kind of light, ability to water thoroughly, and much more.....we really can't help.

Well I started all my plants under fluorescent lights in a room that was around 70+ degrees at all times. I started them the last week of January mostly because I was over anxious. They all started in Jiffy pots then were transplanted to the bigger pots in Pro-Mix BX. They were watered when the soil got dry and they flowered and looked great. As soon as I got my Green House I moved them outside into it. The Temp in there was as low as 35 sometimes at night, That was in March. That's about it I think. Thanks for the help.

I suspect that your problem has something to do with the lack of a fertilizer program. Plants grown in peat-based planting mediums must be fertilized on a regular basis, for normal growth and development.

Marigolds, by the way, can begin to flower in their cell packs in as little as 6 weeks! It's important to read up on all of the different kinds of plants that you want to grow from seed to find out how long it takes for them to be ready for sale. That kind of information is readily available in professional seed catalogs or web sites. Then, plan your seeding calendar according to those specifications. You never want to maintain bedding plants in the green house for very long....they just don't hold up.

Ahh OK I was wondering because my Cherry Brandy Rudbeckia, Gazania, Chinese Lantern, and my Salvia's all have yet to flower and were started months ago.

That happened to me a couple years ago, I started them in the sunroom. Fine at first, then some started going red and then greyish, looked like some fungus had attacked them, many died.

The ones I gave to a friend just a week or two earlier before that started, she planted and got the most enormous rounds from one plant I have ever seen. I wish I knew the variety. My daughter got them for me.

Now I save seeds from the same ones every year and start them outside. They grow pretty fast. It does make them a little late but I don't sell them.

I think you held them too long like I did mine only I think I used potting soil and had transplanted them into something, can't remember what, plastic cups I think. Now I save 6 packs for that.

Why don't you experiment and try winter sowing some next year? Check that forum. I've had good luck with what I've done but for one fussy bunch of seeds. Some the germination rate wasn't so good, but others the germination rate was too good or I should have spread them into more milk jugs.