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Guest Column

Blanket flower flourishes in dry, sunny conditions

Masses of the blanket flower Gaillardia pulchella are blooming profusely in the medians of Citrus County highways.

By JANE WEBER
Published June 19, 2006

Masses of the blanket flower Gaillardia pulchella are blooming profusely in the medians of Citrus County highways in full sun and with no irrigation. If this wildflower can prosper in such a difficult situation, then it will make an easy-to-grow addition to the butterfly garden, flower border or yearly mowed meadow.

Of Gaillardia's 30 species, all but two are native to the United States. G. pulchella occurs naturally from southern Florida to coastal North Carolina on beaches and in sandy fields where it blooms from May till frost.

It makes excellent cut flowers and blooms more prolifically if spent flowers are deadheaded or plucked before the seed sets. Though frost hardy, this short-lived perennial is best treated as a self-seeding annual for leggy plants and must be cut back in late summer in order to recover before frost.

A member of the Aster family, hybrid G.X. grandiflora, often available in big box stores, has larger flowers but little to no nectar to attract butterflies. Smaller nurseries offer our native wildflower, which grows as 1- to 2-foot-tall mounds with showy, inchwide, daisylike ray flowers in bright red, orange or maroon tipped with yellow.

Occasionally, solid-colored flowers are plain red or yellow around a purplish center disc-floret - a nice accent.

Fertile seed heads full of tiny seeds soon dry on dying stems. For a tidy garden, cut them off and store some seeds in a paper envelope to plant next spring. Use a cold frame to get an early start or sow the seeds in trays in the protected lanai or where the warmth rising from the pool will create a warmer microclimate.

Leaves are hairy, pale gray-green, narrow, lance-shaped to lobed and arranged alternately along the stems.

Gaillardia prefers dry conditions and sandy soil and is xeric once established, but it will tolerate weekly irrigation and natural heavy summer rains provided the soil is well-drained. It will not grow in shade and will become infected with fungus in wet sites.

Because the flowers' bi-colors remind one of the bright reds, oranges and yellows traditionally woven into blankets worn by American Indians, gardeners commonly call this attractive wildflower blanket flower.

Combined with tall grasses such as miscanthus, muhly and wire grass - Muhlenbergia capillaris, Miscanthus sinensis and Aristida stricta, respectively - and other wildflowers like tropical sage, spiderwort, and blue-eyed grass - Salvia coccinea, Tradescantia ohiensis and Sisyrinchium angustifolium - our native blanket flower is a proven winner in any garden.

Editor's note: This weekly article is provided by Jane Weber, professional gardener, grower, consultant, designer and environmentalist. Visit her Certified Florida Yard and Backyard Wildlife Habitat, 5019 W Stargazer Lane, Dunnellon. Call (352) 465-0649.

[Last modified June 19, 2006, 08:24:46]