Seeds from My Garden

Blanket Flower

Gaillardia

Blanket flower brings cheerful red-and-gold color and keeps blooming through heat that makes fussier plants wilt. Bees and butterflies approve, too.

Red and gold blanket flowers blooming in Amelia's garden

Light

Full sun

Sow

Lightly cover

Soil

Good drainage

Habit

Drought tolerant

How to sow

Scatter seeds over prepared soil and rake them in very lightly. Fall sowing works well; you can also sow in spring after frost. Keep the seedbed consistently moist until seedlings are established.

How to grow

Choose a sunny spot with sharp drainage and avoid rich fertilizer. Once established, blanket flower handles heat and dry spells well. Deadheading encourages more blooms.

What to expect

Because garden blanket flowers may be hybrids, seedlings can vary in color, height, and form. That variation is part of the fun of shared seed.

Seed-sharing note

These seeds came from plants growing in my garden. Seedlings are individuals, so they may not look exactly like the parent plant—and that is part of growing from seed.

From my garden

A closer look

Blanket flower bloom and seed head in Amelia's garden — A bloom beside a seed head ready for sharing

Pale blanket flower seeds beside a dime for scale — Blanket flower seeds beside a dime for scale

A note from my garden

“These flowers earn their keep: bright color, a long bloom season, and plenty of pollinator visitors without much fuss from me.”