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I have started marigolds for years and have never seen this.
When my safari's got their first true leaves,+ I noticed many brown spots on them.
These spots are equally spaced on the leaves, and there are many on the leaves that are affected. Had a friend out who has run greenhouse for 30 years and had never seen it. Thought it might be leaf spot. I opted to throw them out.

Today started to transplant my Janie marigolds and a few spots on them.
By coincidence, the friend dropped by and couldn't believe it.
Called company and they thought maybe same thing, but evidence doesn't add up.

Started inside, not humid conditions.
Water the soil, not on leaves.
Temp between 65-70 F
Soilless mix with fungicide.
Under grow lights.

No other plants have this.
Someone suggested too close to lights

Help! Anyone ever see this????

My marigolds did that last year! I was never able to figure out what was wrong with them, but they eventually became stunted and the leaves got more and more brown til there were more brown spots than green on them. The closest thing I could find was tobacco mosaic virus. I pulled them up. My boyfriend still smokes by the garden and even when hes touching the plants. Can't say for sure that's what it is...but, do you by chance smoke cigs?

I planted seeds from the same packets this year and they are perfect plants, for what it's worth.

No one here or who visits smokes, so not that.
I'm going to try spraying them tomorrow with a hydrogen peroxide solution as advised by company. It's very weird.

I don't know either. But if the plants were being burned from being too close to the lights, that would make white spots, probably in larger patches, not little brown spots. Does sound like perhaps disease.

If I ever figure it out, I'll let you know. Looked at tobacco mosaic virus symptoms and does not look like that at all. Couldn't be fertilizer toxcicity since they hadnt been fertilized yet.
Thanks for your responses.

marigold botrytis blight?

Actually, it seems to be nothing harmful. I did spray with a weak hydrogen peroxide solution, but it never spread to other varieties of marigolds or other plants. It certainly was weird and hard for me to believe that the seed company's horticulturalists did not know what it was.
Anyhow, plants doing great, greenhouse is full!
Thanks for all your innputs.

All's well....

I'm growing marigolds from seeds for the first time this year. So much fun!

I am looking to plant marigolds for the first time this year -- is it too late to start? I am a newbie at all of this! Please help me!

No, not too late to start, marigolds are pretty quick.

Okay, great! Looking forward to taking on the new project