Blanketflower, Gaillardia

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  • Regular price $1.00


Quick facts

  • Native wildflower
  • Attractive to pollinators and birds
  • Drought tolerant

Gaillardia artistata

One of our favorites for difficult spots, these hardy flowers do excellent in poorer soil and roadside plantings.  This native perennial flower is very attractive to bees and other beneficial insects and is found in most of the Western United States, great lakes region, New England, and upper great plains. Firey flowers are a great addition to xeriscaping, low-water/no-water gardens and borders. Flowers early in mid-June and will do so until frost, especially of dead-headed.  Leaves fuzzy.

A bit of its story:

The plant genus Gaillardia was dedicated in 1788 in honor of the early French botanist Gaillard de Charentonneau. The plant species Aristata means "bearing bristles" in botanical Latin, in reference to the rough hairy leaves and stems.

The cryptic blanketflower moth, Schinia masoni evolved with Gaillardia artistata and bears color patterns allowing it to blend in with the flower heads and remain unseen during the day.  The head and thorax of the moth blend in with the yellow center of the flower, while the wings are red to blend with the petals.  The wing tips are yellow, just as the petals are yellow at the tips.  The blanketflower moth is found in Colorado and Wyoming.  Check out more about the Blanketflower moth here.

How to grow it:

Germ Temp

Indoor Start

Germ Days

Frost Tolerant

Sun

Seed Depth

Plant/Row Spacing

65-70

4-6 w.

6-21 d.

Yes

Full

Press lightly

12”/24”

For best results, scatter seeds on soil surface of a clear area and rake in lightly in the late fall around the time winter precipitation begins. Alternatively, start in the greenhouse in early spring after a period of cold stratification by placing seeds in the refrigerator in a moist paper towel for one month.

Press seeds lightly into soil as they need light to germinate.  Once growing, plants need at least six hours of sun a day to flower well. 

Seeds must be kept evenly moist, but not wet, to germinate well.  

Learn more about cold stratification by reading our blog post about it.

Seed specs:  Packet size- 200 seeds min.