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Botanical Garden

Gaillardia pulchella - Blanket flower

Gaillardia pulchella
Gaillardia pulchella
Gaillardia pulchella

Family Asteraceae

Description:

Various sources give the number of Gaillardia species as 15 to 28. However the genus is divided, the species are native to North America, and South America. This species is native to a large area from Maine to northern Mexico and from Arizona to Florida. It can grow and flower every month of the year in warm climates. It is a compact mound covered with colorful daisies. As with other daisies, the petal-like structures are actually individual flowers. They are burgandy at the base and yellow at the tips, or sometimes all yellow. The disk flowers in the center are burgandy, or sometimes yellow.

Hybrids of this species with another species (Gaillardia aristata) are the gaillardias most commonly seen in garden catalogs.

Location:

See this plant in lot 100 and at the Golf Learning Center.

Size:

Small herbaceous plant, short-lived perennial or annual, to about twelve to eighteen inches tall.

Care Instructions:

Light: sun, part shade

Water: well-drained soil, drought tolerant

Soil: adaptable to soil types, no other special requirements

In northeast Florida, this native wildflower is well-suited to a sunny, dry garden. It volunteers around the garden a bit but it is easy to pull the wayward seedlings.