Blanket flower plant is known to scientists as Gaillardia, a genus of flowering plants in the Asteraceae family. The blanket flowers bloom from July to August and are fragrant, beautiful flowers. This plant grows fast in gravelly and rocky soil. If the plant is watered and fed regularly, it will bloom throughout the year.
This plant likes direct sunlight and tolerates moist soil and dry conditions as well. This plant bears red and yellow flowers. The flowers are borne on stems that are about 31.5 inches in height maximum.
A blanket flower’s mature size is 25-37 inches tall and 11-25 inches wide. This plant requires a dry climate to grow and is easy to grow in the home garden. This plant is an attraction for butterflies and bees. This is an Indian plant species, also known as an Indian blanket, with only yellow flowers.
History
Blanket flowers are known to scientists as Gaillardia, a genus of flowering plants in the Asteraceae family. The Gaillardia plant is named after Maître Gaillard de Charentonneau, who was a French magistrate in the 18th century and also a keen botanist. The plant’s common name is derived from the brightly patterned blankets or ground blankets made by the Americans.
Blanket Flower Overview
- Botanical Name: Gallardia pulchella
- Common Name: Gallardia, blanket flower
- Family: Asteraceae
- Plant Type: Perennial, herbaceous
- Bloom Time: Summer through fall
- Soil Type: Well-draining soil
- Soil pH: 1 and 6.5 pH
- Sun Exposure: Full sun
- Mature Size: 24-36 in tall, 12-24 in spread
- Flowers Color: Red and yellow
- Native Area: North and South America
- Toxicity: Toxic to humans
Types of Blanket Flower
Gaillardia Burgundy
Gaillardia burgundy is a short-lived herbaceous plant with deep-red flowers. These flowers bloom during the autumn and summer months. These plants add beauty to the home garden. The plant can grow up to 3 inches tall with a yellow center. The plant can tolerate heat and drought conditions and is used for bedding and borders.
Arizona Red Shades
The Arizona Red Shades flower is a perennial with red flowers that bloom from early summer to fall. They prefer full sun. This flower is a popular flower with butterflies and bees. This plant begins to flower within a year of planting. Caring for this plant is simple.
Fanfare Blaze
Fanfare Blaze is a unique flowering plant compared to other flowering plants in that it has pinwheels blooms, and the flowers can last for a long period. It is a short-lived herbaceous plant with grey-green foliage. The flower is beautiful with trumpeted petals with a deep orange-red center and grows hardy in hardiness zones 5-10.
How to Care & Grow
Sow the seeds of this blanket flower in fertile and well-drained soil, and after a sufficiently moist environment, cover it, and it will sprout a new plant in about 6-10 days. Give these new plants plenty of food and water when they are young, so your plant can proliferate.
This plant needs full sunlight, so plant it in a location where it gets enough sunlight during the day. This flower prefers a moist soil or moist environment and can proliferate in this environment. These flowers grow in plains and add to their natural beauty.
Blanket flower is quite hardy in USDA zones 3 through 10, and overwatering this plant can damage it. Give this plant the required fertilizer on time to make the soil fertile.
Light
This blanket flower plant grows and blooms best in full sun, but can tolerate some partial shade. This plant likes a warm climate, and the more sunlight it receives, the better the flowers bloom. Too much sun in summer can cause this plant to flop too.
Water
Water is one of the essential factors for the good growth of any plant. When planting this plant, water it deep into the ground for good root development. Check the soil of this plant frequently, as this blanket flower plant is drought tolerant once established. This plant needs water in hot and dry conditions.
Soil
Blanket flowers prefer to grow in poor soil. Do not improve the rich content or excessive fertility in the ground for this plant. Information on pH requirements for this plant is not given, but it prefers well-draining soil.
Fertilizer
Blanket flowers if you want more flowers, improve the soil with a fertilizer that promotes the growth of its best flowers. Many people who grow this plant have noted that poor soil is best for this plant.
Temperature and Humidity
Blanket flowers prefer to grow in full sun and are hard to tolerate hot summer temperatures. This plant prefers hot and dry climates rather than humid climates. The temperature required for this plant is around 70-75 degrees F.
Common Pests and Diseases
Blanket flowers tolerate most pests and diseases. Rabbits and deer do not harm this plant. Aster yellow blanket works to damage flowering plants. Conditions such as viruses act to prevent their development. Pests like leaf hoppers and aphids are the main cause of aster yellowing.
Pruning
When the flowers of the blanket flower begin to fade, you should cut the stems so that the plant can grow better. If the plant goes dormant during the summer, prune it back dramatically and encourage it for good blooms in the fall. This plant does not store energy but uses its power for plant growth, so remove old flowers or buds so that the plant can grow well.
Benefit
- This plant is used as an ornamental because of its beautiful appearance
- Making medicinal drugs
- Diseases like gastroenteritis can be treated by making tea from the root of this plant
- The chewed powder is used for skin growth
- This plant is also used by nursing mothers to relieve pain
- It is also used to relieve eye pain
FAQ
How many hours of sun do blanket flowers need?
Blanket flower plants thrive in full sun. This plant requires a lot of direct daylight for good growth and needs about 6 to 8 hours of sunlight during the day.
What is a companion for a blanket flower?
Other varieties of blanket flowers that are drought tolerant include lavender, ornamental grasses, tickseed, lantana, bee balm, blazing star, salvia, coneflower, catmint, and milkweed.
What are common names for blanket flowers?
Common names for blanket flowers include brown-eyed Susan, great blanket flower, common gaillardia, and Indian blanket flower.