Common Name: Blanket Flower

Latin Name: Gaillardia pulchella

Height: 2-3 feet tall

Duration: Annual

Bloom Color: Red, Yellow, Brown

Bloom Time: May through September.  Bloom period can be prolonged by deadheading

Water Use: Medium

Soil: Sandy or calcareous soils, often disturbed places, mostly in grassland or open places. Rich soils will produce large, floppy plants with few flowers.  Good drainage is required.

Light Requirement: Sun, Part Shade

Spreads easily via seeds

Host Plant:  Blanket Flower is a host plant for the bordered patch butterfly caterpillar.  It is also a host plant for the caterpillar of the painted schinia moth which has historically been found in Nebraska, but no recent records have been found of the species.  

Other pollinators: bees, butterflies, skippers, wasps, flies, and birds enjoy eating the seeds in the winter.