Gaillardia, Blanket Flower: A Profile of a Perennial

Yellow and red gaillardias, or blanket flowers, are daisies with serrated tips on the ray petals. These perennials are very tough and cheerful. Downy green leaves grow in low rosettes and have a hairy texture. The plants naturalize in sunny gardens and even on sand dunes. Most types grow two feet tall with daisies about three inches wide, but others can be one to three feet tall.

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How to grow: Gaillardias tolerate drought and grow well without any fuss at all in full sun, in any garden soil that has good drainage. Deadhead plants for renewed bloom and tidy beds.

Propagation: By division in spring or fall, also from seed.

Uses: Blanket flowers are good for meadow gardens, garden borders, raised beds, and mass plantings. They make good cut flowers.

Related species and hybrids: Goblin is red with yellow tips, Golden Goblin is pale yellow, Burgundy has wine-red petals, and Lollipop in multiple colors is double and round. Gaillardia pulchella is the half hardy type of blanket flower. Yellow Plumes is recommended for use as a summer annual.

Scientific name: Gaillardia grandiflora

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