GROWING BEAUTIFUL BLANKET FLOWER (GAILLARDIA)

Botanical name:

Gaillardia spp.

Common names:

Blanket flower, common gaillardia, or Indian blanket

Hardiness Zones:

3-10 for perennials, depending on the variety.

Height/Spread:

Upright, mounding or spreading habit, 1 to 3 feet tall and 1 to 2 feet wide

Exposure:

Full sun

Bloom time:

Late spring through fall

Flowers:

Daisy-like flowers bloom over an exceptionally long time, from late spring to fall. They occur in shades of orange, yellow, red, apricot, peach, and bronze, many with distinct patterns. Petals are pointed, fringed or tubular, in single or double arrangements.

Foliage:

The gray-green foliage is slightly hairy, with lance-shaped leaves that have smooth or lobed edges. Vigorous plants are upright or bushy with a strong branching habit.

Toxicity:

Skin irritation can occur on contact. Wash affected area with soap and water.

Photo by: Proven Winners.

When to plant:

Plant starts or direct sow seeds outdoors in late spring after all danger of frost is past. Seeds can also be started indoors 4 to 6 weeks before the average last frost date.

Where to plant:

Plant in a site that receives full sun and good air circulation.

How to plant:

Amend garden beds with compost or other organic matter. For containers, use a high-quality potting soil. Make sure soil is loose and well-draining. If plants are pot-bound, gently tease out the roots. Dig a hole the size of the root ball and place in the planting hole so the top of the root ball is level or slightly higher than the surrounding soil. Fill in the hole with soil, tamp down gently to remove air pockets, and water thoroughly. Water plants 2 to 3 times a week until established.

Growing from seed:

• Indoors: Sow seeds indoors 4 to 6 weeks before your last frost-free date. Use seed starting mix and sow seeds on the surface of the soil. Keep evenly moist until germination in 7 to 20 days. Transplant seedlings outdoors when minimum temperatures are at least 50 degrees F.
• Outdoors: Direct sow seeds in a sunny site with average well-draining soil. Thin seedlings 6 to 12 inches apart.

There are many ways to incorporate blanket flower into your landscape. Here’s how:

• Plant blanket flower in a cottage-style border alongside other easy-care summer bloomers such as black-eyed Susan, salvia, phlox, coneflower, veronica, and bee balm.
• Place a smaller type in a container as a filler element in combination with other plants with similar needs such lantana, verbena, sedums, or small ornamental grasses such as blue fescue.
• Edge a sunny pathway with a low growing type for nonstop color all summer long.
• For eye-popping contrast, plant blanket flower alongside other summer bloomers in cooler hues such as purple salvia, Russian sage, or blue lily of the Nile.
• Mass on a slope for erosion control alongside other drought-tolerant perennials such as ornamental grasses, milkweed, catmint, and lavender.
• Naturalize with other native plants such as daisies, coneflower, tickseed, yarrow, and blazing star for a low-maintenance landscape.
• Transform a curbside strip with tough drought-tolerant plants such as blanket flower, sedums, sneezeweed, fescues, and asters.
• Plant taller forms in a cutting garden along with other cut flower favorites such as cosmos, zinnias, and dahlias for colorful fresh bouquets all summer long.
• Combine in a rock garden with other summer bloomers such as stonecrop, ice plant, dianthus, and beardtongue.

Companion plants:

Combine blanket flower with other drought-tolerant perennial companions such as lantana, coneflower, bee balm, blazing star, salvia, catmint, lavender, ornamental grasses, tickseed, and milkweed.