How to Grow & Care for Blanket Flower (Gallardia) (2024)

FAQs

Do blanket flowers come back every year? ›

This perennial bloomer comes back in the garden for years to come, mounding slowly to cover the garden in a blanket fo wildflowers. That is the reason so many refer to this Arizona native as 'Blanket Flower. ' The flowers reseed and sprawl through gardens and very easy to grow.

So rather than slow down as fall sets in, blanket flowers continue blooming and setting seed like there is no tomorrow! You should cut plants back, deadhead blooms, and pinch off flower blooms in late fall keeps plants from wasting their energy on new blooms.

Gaillardia is one robust plant, but cutting back the spent stems seems to improve its hardiness even more and enhance its vigor. Gaillardia grows best in USDA zones 3 through 10.

They tend to be short lived (average lifespan for Gaillardia x grandiflora is two years) not only because of this requirement for excellent drainage, but also because they bloom so prolifically that they burn themselves out quickly.

My most preferred method for is to simply leave the plant to die back naturally for the winter. It can get a little messy looking, but wildlife loves it and it adds a bit of wild winter interest to your garden.

Blanket Flower/Gaillardia

They thrive in the cooler months and make great fall flowers for pots & containers. Also known as blanket flowers, these perennial beauties lure tons of pollinators to the garden, from butterflies to bees, and even provide shelter for beetles.

Gaillardia, also known as blanket flower, is an easy-to-grow, short-lived perennial with richly colored, daisy-like flowers. The plant forms a slowly spreading mound, and the common name may be a reference to how they can slowly spread and "blanket" an area.

Gaillardia is a perennial in mild and warm climates but can be grown as an annual in colder climates.

Gaillardia is easy to grow and requires little care. Deadhead spent flowers to encourage more to form, and then cut all stems back to the ground once flowering is over. Remember gaillardias do best in nutrient-poor soil so it's best not to fertilise or mulch as you would with other perennials.

Is a blanket flower the same as Gaillardia? ›

Gaillardia is native to the North American prairies, and the common name, blanketflower, suggests the colours found in blankets of indigenous peoples of the American southwest: from yellow to orange, bronze, maroon, red and burgundy.

If grown in too much shade the flower stems can become leggy and flop over. You can start plants from seed indoors or purchase transplants from garden centers. Plant seedlings and transplants in well-drained, compost-amended soil. Gaillardia may struggle to come back each year if grown in clay soils.

Can I grow gaillardia in a container? Yes gaillardia is fine for containers. Make sure you have excellent drainage and use a commercial potting mix.

I've grown this flower for years in various flower beds and wildflower gardens. Each bloom will produce numerous seeds that resemble bad-mitten birdies. These seeds will be blown around by the wind, and frequently germinate the following Spring. So, yes – Blanket Flower will spread by self-seeding.

Blanket flower's festive, solid or patterned flowers in red, orange, or yellow appear throughout the summer and will attract scores of colorful butterflies to your garden. The flowers appear on sturdy stems held high above the plant's foliage. Most varieties of blanket flower grow 18 to 22 inches tall.

Cut back your Gaillardia in the late fall to a height of about six inches, and dispose of the material. During the growing season you can deadhead the flowers, but you don't need to; the seed heads are attractive in their own right and the local wildlife seems to enjoy eating them up.

Saving seeds of Gaillardia pulchella is easy. What we see as a single daisy-like flower is really a cluster of tiny flowers in the center or eye of the flower. After the flowers are pollinated, the plant sheds its leaves, leaving rounded seed heads atop bare stems. Let the seed heads dry on the plants.

Propagation. Depending on the cultivar, gaillardia can be propagated by seed, shoot-tip cuttings, division or tissue culture.

Aster Yellows

With this disease, the leaves of the blanket flowers turn yellow. Plus, their blooms seem not to grow as they should or are in poor condition. A mycoplasma-like organism called Phytoplasma is the cause of this blanket flower disease.

Gaillardia 'Burgundy' (Blanket Flower)

across (7 cm), adorned with a button-like center which emerges bright yellow and then slowly matures to oxblood-red. Blooming continuously from early summer into fall, the daisy-like flowers are borne on very long stems and are ideal for cutting.

How long do Gaillardia flowers last? ›

Gaillardia blossoms attract bees and butterflies, and the plants will bloom for eight weeks or more if old flowers are removed.

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.

Gaillardia (blanket flower) offers the abundance of nectar that draws hummingbirds, butterflies and other pollinators, plus they're easy to grow.

The Blanket Flower attracts many native bees, in particular honey bees and it also attracts butterflies. The flowers produce a dark red honey with a buttery taste.

This applies to blanket flowers as well. These hardy cultivars don't require fertilizers. As many gardeners have observed, the poorer the soil, the more flowers the plants seem to produce. So you won't need to fertilize or mulch them throughout their life.

Blanket flower is also listed by the Department of Plant and Soil Science of the University of Vermont Extension System as potentially harmful as a skin irritant.

They can survive some drought once established. Use this plant to add bright colors to the front of the border, in containers, on the patio or along walkways. Bees and butterflies will visit the flowers and if some seeds are left to form, goldfinches will eat them.

Pruning. Blanket flower does not require deadheading to keep blooming, but the plants will look better and be fuller if you do cut the stems back when the flowers start to fade. You will also get more continuous flowering with deadheading, so don't be shy about it.

In warmer climates, blanket flowers in winter are allowed to continue to grow and add interest to the garden just with their foliage. In cooler climes, the best bet is to cut back the spent flowers and give the plant light mulch. By light, I mean one inch (2.5 cm.) of an organic material.

Most bedding plants are annual, which means they only grow and flower for one year. They are discarded at the end of the season, and the following year new plants will be grown.

Does Gaillardia do well in pots? ›

Yes gaillardia is fine for containers. Make sure you have excellent drainage and use a commercial potting mix.

Despite their tall stature they can be grown in pots, but also can make great cut flowers. Blanket flowers aren't just used for their beauty alone, they also attract nectar-seeking butterflies. They are also easy to care for because they don't need the best soil to grow. They prefer poor soil that loose and sandy.

Blanketflowers are adapted to full sun and well drained soils, surviving with little care. They do poorly in heavy clay. They are not long lived, so leave the soil around them un-mulched so they can self-seed. Cutting back flowering stems prior to hard frost encourages new basal buds.

Summer bedding plants should be planted out in late May or early June and in September or October.

Don't feed plants growing outdoors when they are dormant. For most plants that means feeding during spring and summer and avoiding supplying extra nutrients during the winter when they are resting.