Blanket Flower

Blanket flower (Gaillardia aristata) 

Blanket flower is a perennial plant that I grew this year for the first time. I grew them from seed indoors and later transplanted them outdoors when the weather was warm. According to the instructions on the seed packet it is a perennial and should survive the north east winter.

The flowers are a rust red with yellow borders. They come in a few other colors especially red but the below is the most common one. The flowers are not very big may be 2-3 inches in diameter.

The flowers rise in long thin stalks from the base of the plant.

The foliage looks like this.

I planted them in pots and a couple on the ground. They are perennial plants and seeds can be harvested from dried flowers. I grew them from seeds indoors about 8 weeks before planting them outdoors. I planted 2-3 seedlings per pot.

My Gaillardia plants started flowering in mid -summer. Once the petals completely fall off you can collect the seeds from the dried flower heads.