Gaillardia or the blanket flower genus is a group of short-lived perennial plants in the Asteraceae (daisy) family native to North and South America including North Carolina. The plant was named after Maître Gaillard de Charentonneau, an enthusiastic botanist in France. These plants need good drainage in full sun to thrive. They are drought tolerant once established and require very little fertilizer. There are many hybrids of this plant available on the market in a variety of shapes and colors. They attract pollinators to the flowers and bloom from spring to fall. Blanket flower is deer and rabbit resistant and salt tolerant. Use these plants to add lots of color to the front of the border, in containers and mass planted. Deadhead to encourage repeat blooming. Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: Generally, no problems, but leaf spot and powdery mildew can occur. Aphids, leafhoppers and thrips can occur. Root rot in too wet conditions is a problem. VIDEO created by Andy Pulte for “Landscape Plant Identification, Taxonomy and Morphology” a plant identification course offered by the Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee.
Source: NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox ↗Reconciled to full toolbox: matched by slug to slug 'gaillardia'. Identity (id/common/scientific name) preserved from the original 87-plant Hunnicutt set; attribute data refreshed from the 50-attribute toolbox scrape.
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
Soil texture
Loam (Silt); Sand; Shallow Rocky
Soil drainage
Good Drainage
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 1 ft. 6 in. - 2 ft. 0 in. | Width: 1 ft. 0 in. - 1 ft. 6 in.
Growth rate
Medium
Maintenance
Low
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous (1-3 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Mounding; Spreading
Texture
Medium
Leaf color
Gray/Silver; Green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Opposite
Leaf shape
Lanceolate
Leaf margin
Entire; Lobed
Leaf feel
Velvety
Hairs present
Yes
Leaf detail
The leaves vary and are usually gray-green, hairy, with lance-shaped leaves that have smooth or lobed edges
Flower color
Gold/Yellow; Orange; Red/Burgundy; Variegated
Flower value
Long Bloom Season; Long-lasting; Showy
Flower form
Head; Solitary
Flower shape
Radial
Flower size
1-3 inches
Flower detail
The flowers vary per variety but are usually solitary disc flowers surrounded by 15 or more ray flowers in a variety of colors. Some varieties have rolled or tubular rays in single or double rows.