Blanket Flower
Gaillardia × grandiflora
Family Asteraceae
Fiesta-striped daisies in red, orange, and gold, running from spring clear through the year — blanket flower blooms longer than almost anything you can plant. It treats a gravel driveway edge as luxury housing and pumps out color where richer plants would beg for mercy.
Butterflies and bees work it constantly, it's safe around pets, and if you let a few heads go to seed the patch quietly renews itself for good. For the hot, dry, forgotten strip along the road, sow this and consider the problem solved.
Full Sun
Low water
Fast growth
Attracts butterflies
Attracts bees
From the print shop
Growing blanket flower? Hang it.
Our Plant Library collection carries blanket flower — Gaillardia grandiflora, print Nº 60, “Blanket Flower.”
526 designsfrom $12.99white or black backgroundmatte poster, unframed
Will it thrive where you are?
Enter your ZIP — we look up your USDA hardiness zone (2023 map) and check it against what blanket flower actually needs.
Hardy inZones 3-9Blanket Flower · Common problems
Common blanket flower problems
Pests
1 problem on file
- Almost none
Diseases
1 problem on file
- Aster Yellows (rogue out weird green blooms)
Blanket Flower · Growing & propagation
Growing blanket flower
- Light
- Full Sun
- Water
- Very low
Soil- Poor, sandy, drained
Dies in rich wet clay · pH 6.0 - 7.0
Fertilizer- None
Pruning- Spring
Deadhead or shear midsummer to extend; short-lived (3 yrs) but self-sows replacements.
Spacing- 12-15 in
How to plant & propagate blanket flower
- Propagate
- Division or seed
Blanket Flower · Calculators & field guides
A little help in the garden.
Blanket Flower · Yearly calendar
The blanket flower year, month by month
Jan
No calendar activity is listed for this month.
BloomPruneBloomJune
PruneMarch to May
What each band means
- Bloom — flowers open — pollinators working, frost on blossoms is the danger.
- Prune — shape it now — cuts heal cleanly and structure is visible.
These are the species' typical months — expect them a few weeks earlier in warm zones and later in cold ones. Watch the plant, not just the calendar.
Blanket Flower · Ecology & uses
Ecology & uses
Gaillardia × grandiflora
Blanket Flower in the garden system
- Herbaceous layer perennial
- Nectary/insectary
- Attracts
- Butterflies, Bees
Habitat- Prairie/meadow, Dry/rocky
Moisture- Upland / dry
Deer- Browsed
Protect young plants
Origin- Introduced
What blanket flower is grown for
✓ Not known to be toxic
Use- Hot dry borders
- Use
- Native-ish meadows
- Use
- Nonstop color
Edibility, identification, and traditional-use notes here are general reference — not medical or veterinary advice, and not a claim that any plant treats or prevents anything. Medicinal ratings record how strongly a plant features in herbal tradition, nothing more. Never eat or dose a plant you have not positively identified. More on how to use this library.
Blanket Flower · Varieties & cultivars
Choosing a blanket flower variety
'Arizona Sun' (compact); 'Goblin'; 'Mesa' series
Sources & plant identity
Know what you’re growing.
See where the knowledge comes from.
Blanket Flower
Gaillardia × grandiflora
The plant, at a glance.
- Botanical name
- Gaillardia × grandiflora
- Plant family
- Asteraceae
- Growth habit
- Perennial
- Origin
- Introduced
- USDA plant symbol
- GAGR11
- Invasive risk
- Low
Hardiness, size and timing vary with your cultivar, soil and climate.
Rooted in research.
University extension research, brought together with hands-on growing experience at Story Thyme Farms.
Questions
Blanket Flower questions, answered straight.
Is blanket flower safe for kids and pets?
Blanket Flower is commonly eaten and isn't considered toxic, but "commonly eaten" isn't a guarantee for any particular person or animal — allergies, quantity, and which part you eat all matter. Never eat a plant you haven't positively identified, and check with a vet before letting pets or livestock graze anything new.
How do you propagate blanket flower?
Division or seed.
Elsewhere
Where blanket flower sits in the library.
Sunflower
Zinnia
Peony
Daylily