Blanket Flower

Blanket flower is a North American native wildflower that blooms with reckless abandon from early summer right through to hard frost, producing red and yellow daisy-like flowers that resemble tiny pinwheels. Growing 30-75cm tall depending on variety, gaillardia is one of the most heat-tolerant and drought-resistant perennials available—it actually thrives on neglect.

Plant in full sun in lean, well-drained soil. This is critically important: gaillardia is a short-lived perennial that is killed by rich, moist conditions. Poor, sandy, or gravelly soil with minimal organic matter produces the longest-lived, most floriferous plants. Avoid amending the planting area with compost or manure. Excellent drainage is essential, particularly in winter—waterlogged soil is fatal.

Deadhead regularly to maintain continuous bloom, though this plant flowers so prolifically that some gardeners simply let it go. Gaillardia is inherently short-lived (2-4 years) but compensates with vigorous self-seeding that maintains the planting. Allow some seed heads to mature for natural regeneration. In ideal conditions, individual plants may persist for 5+ years.

Gaillardia is a genus of flowering plants in the sunflower family Asteraceae, comprising roughly thirty species native to North and South America. The genus is centered in the prairies, plains, and dry open habitats of the central and western United States and Mexico, with a few species extending into South America. Blanket flowers have been an integral part of the North American prairie ecosystem for thousands of years, evolving alongside native pollinators and grazing animals in grassland habitats characterized by full sun, well-drained soils, and periodic drought. Native American peoples had deep familiarity with gaillardia long before European contact. Several tribes used the plant medicinally, and its striking flowers held cultural significance in storytelling and ceremonial traditions. The Lakota people associated the blanket flower with the sun and included it in various healing practices. European botanists first formally described the genus in the late eighteenth century. The French botanist Auguste Denis Fougeroux de Bondaroy named the genus in honor of Maître Gaillard de Charentonneau around 1786. By the early nineteenth century, seeds of Gaillardia pulchella and Gaillardia aristata were being sent to European botanical gardens, where hybridization efforts soon began. The most widely grown garden form, Gaillardia x grandiflora, is a hybrid between the annual G. pulchella and the perennial G. aristata, first produced by Belgian horticulturist in the 1850s. This hybrid combined the vibrant color range of the annual species with the perennial habit of the prairie native. Throughout the twentieth century, plant breeders developed numerous cultivars in an expanded palette of colors including pure yellow, deep burgundy, peach, and bicolor forms. Modern breeding programs have also focused on producing compact, well-branched varieties suited to container gardening and smaller urban spaces.

Gaillardia demands lean, well-drained soil and performs best in poor, sandy, or gravelly conditions with a pH of 6.0-7.5. Do not amend soil with rich compost or fertilize heavily—this shortens the plant's lifespan and causes floppy growth. If any feeding is needed, a single light application of low-nitrogen fertilizer in spring is more than sufficient. The plant is native to prairies with nutrient-poor soils and has adapted to thrive on very little.

Gaillardia makes cheerful cut flowers. Cut stems when the first ring of ray florets has fully opened. The flowers last 5-7 days in a vase. The rounded seed heads are also attractive—dry on the plant or cut when seeds are mature for use in dried arrangements. Regular cutting encourages continued flowering throughout the season.

The globe-shaped seed heads dry well on the plant and can be used in dried arrangements. Cut when seeds are mature and brown, and hang upside down for a week to finish drying. The flowers themselves do not dry well for arrangements but can be pressed for crafts. Save seeds from the best plants by collecting mature seed heads in autumn—store in paper envelopes in a cool, dry place until spring sowing.