Gaillardia aristata
Perennial blanketflower, blanketflower, blanket flower: this last name, translated from the English blanketflower, comes from the woven blankets of the Native American peoples of the Great Plains, whose concentric red and yellow patterns exactly evoke its flower heads. A dry-prairie perennial of remarkable abundance.
Characteristics:
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Exceptionally long flowering: from June until the first frosts, without interruption if spent flowers are removed.
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Warm colours: large flower heads in shades of red, orange and yellow, often arranged in concentric circles.
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Hardy and robust: undemanding, it thrives in difficult conditions.
Sowing advice:
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Exposure: full sun, essential for optimal flowering.
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Soil: ordinary to poor, sandy or stony, and above all very well drained in winter — this is the critical point: blanketflower dies far more often from winter moisture than from cold. In heavy soil, plant it on a mound. No fertilisation required.
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Method: sow in spring, on the surface without covering, as the seeds need light to germinate. Sow in pots under cover from March, or directly in the ground after the last frosts. See how to sow your seeds.
Care advice:
- Regularly remove spent flowers: this is what prolongs flowering until the first frosts.
- Divide the clump every 2–3 years to rejuvenate it: this is a short-lived perennial that becomes exhausted if allowed to flower continuously.
Beneficial pairings:
Benefits for biodiversity:
- Its broad, flat flower heads are ideal platforms for pollinators: bees, hoverflies and butterflies flock to them over an exceptionally long period.
- Its seeds feed goldfinches if a few flower heads are left to mature at the end of the season.
Uses:
- Beds, borders, rock gardens and flower meadows. An excellent cut flower with good vase life.
Harvesting your own seeds:
Leave a few flower heads to brown and dry completely on the plant until they form a bristly ball, then crumble them over a container: the tufted seeds detach easily. See how to store your seeds.
Commitment to Quality: at SemiSauvage - Permaculture, we grow and select our seeds with respect for all living things as our guiding principle. Based near the Volcanoes of Auvergne, we choose reproducible, non-hybrid varieties, test them for germination rates, and carefully sort and package them without any chemical treatment. Our belief: to give gardeners back the ability to resow, year after year, seeds that truly belong to them.
Bring warm colours to your garden all summer long with these blanketflower seeds.
