Blanket Your Flower Bed with Gaillardia
Gaillardia (Gaillardia spp.), also known as Blanket Flower, is one of the hardiest, longest blooming flowers available to Wisconsinites. With daisy-like flowers in abundant color, they make a great addition to any landscape.
There are about 25-30 species of Gaillardia including annuals, biennials, and perennials. They are in the sunflower family and are all native to different parts of the Americas. They were named after an 18th century French botanist Gaillard de Charentoneau. The common name comes from the fact that the bright colors resemble the blankets of Native Americans. This coincides with the legend of a Native American weaver whose grave is always covered with blooming flowers that were as brilliantly colored as the blankets she had made.
Blanket flowers prefer full sun, well-drained soil. They do well in nutrient poor soils and can tolerate dry soils. They are deer and rabbit resistant and will continue to bloom through the summer if deadheaded. They require little to no fertilization. The biggest factor for success is for them to be in well-drained soil and not have wet feet. They will not survive the winter in heavy clay soils for that reason. Cutting the plants back to about six inches and providing some mulch protection during the winter will increase the winter hardiness.
Blanket flowers will bloom the first year even if grown from seed. Carefully mark where the seed was sown as the seedlings closely resemble dandelions and may inadvertently get pulled as weeds. They are 1-3 feet tall, with a 2-foot spread. Use them in borders, containers, along sidewalks or patios, and in landscape beds mixed with daylilies, grasses, coreopsis, coneflowers or sunflowers.
They normally have a single bloom on each stem. The flowers are daisy-like with a central disc and up to 15 rays. The flower is a compound bloom; what appear to be petals of the flower are really florets. The petal-like florets surround a tuft of other florets in the center. The florets in the center are disc florets; the ones around the outside are ray florets. The rays are often banded with several colors, making them look like they have been dipped in paint. The colors can range from red, orange, yellow, and multicolor.
Gaillardia X grandiflora is the most common type of blanket flower grown in gardens. This hybrid has the best characteristics of both parents: large flowers, a perennial habit, good tolerance to heat, drought, and poor soil, and cold hardiness. Some of the favorites include ‘Goblin’, an older variety with flat red rays tipped with yellow on a 12-14 inch plant. One of the newer series is taller (16-18 inches) with flat ray flowers in several colors. The “Mesa Yellow” received an All-America Selections award in 2010.
If a little different color is in order, look for “Punchbowl” or “Arizona Apricot” (Part of the Arizona Series which blooms earlier than most and are 12 inches tall). They are new cultivars in shades of red and apricot. “Arizona Apricot” was another All-American Selections winner. (2011).
For a brilliant deep-red wine bloom on, 24-30 inches tall, select “Burgandy.” It has a yellow center that ages to dark red, self-sows readily, and is hardy to zone 3.
Give Gaillardia a try and blanket your beds with beautiful blooms.
Carol Shirk
Certified Master Gardener