Gaillardia pulchella Seeds | Indian Blanket
LATIN NAME: Gaillardia pulchella
COMMON NAME: Indian Blanket
Plant Profile
Indian blanket is an annual or short-lived perennial of the daisy family, native to the southern United States and northern Mexico, where it grows on sandy prairie and disturbed ground. It forms a bushy plant thirty to sixty centimetres tall, with grey-green, slightly hairy leaves and daisy heads with red centres and yellow tips, often banded in both colours.
It flowers from early summer until frost, and each head lasts several days. The plant is short-lived but seeds itself freely, so a colony can persist for years in loose, sandy soil without ever being replanted. The stems are rough and branching, and the plant collapses in wet, rich soil.
Science & Biotechnology
The species is a model for studies of flower colour and pollination, since its red and yellow bands vary between populations and appear to influence which insects visit. Research has also looked at its tolerance of salt and drought, which makes it a candidate for roadside and coastal planting.
It hybridises readily with Gaillardia aristata, and most garden gaillardias are of mixed or uncertain parentage. Its seed germination has been studied for the effect of temperature, and its ability to flower in poor soil is used as an example in plant nutrition teaching.
Uses & Benefits
It is a plant for a hot, dry border, a wildflower meadow or a container, and it is one of the best annuals for poor, sandy soil. The flowers last well when cut, and they are visited by bees and butterflies throughout the summer.
In its native range it is the state wildflower of Oklahoma, and it is sown along roadsides for colour and for erosion control. It is also used in seed mixes for reclaimed land, where it flowers in the first season while slower perennials establish. It is also grown as a cut flower in mixed bunches.
In a meadow mix it is usually sown with annual flax, cosmos and coreopsis, since all of them tolerate poor soil and flower in the first summer while perennials are still small. The flowers are also used in dried arrangements if they are picked before the centres set seed.
Growing from Seed
Sow in spring at 18-20C, barely covering the seed; germination takes one to two weeks. Plant out after the last frost in full sun and light, well-drained soil.
Do not enrich the ground, which produces floppy growth and fewer flowers. Deadhead regularly to keep the display going, and leave a few heads to ripen if you want it to return next year. In a container, use a sandy compost and let the surface dry between waterings, since the plant dies in wet compost over winter. Seed sown in autumn in a cold frame will flower earlier than spring-sown plants.
Our Take
Bright, tough and undemanding, Indian blanket is the plant for a hot, sandy corner that gets no attention. It flowers itself to a standstill and asks for nothing.
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