Blanket Flower

Name: Blanket Flower
Brand: Outdoor Dream Builders

Gaillardia pulchella

Vivid bicolor blooms in yellow and maroon blanket the garden from late spring through fall, thriving in desert heat.

A heat-loving warm-season annual in USDA zones 9-11 that can overwinter as a short-lived perennial in mild low-desert winters; reseeds reliably to return.

AMWUA Notes

A tough, low-water annual delivering months of hot-colored bloom through the worst of the desert heat.

Care Guide

💧Watering

Water every 1-2 weeks; very drought and heat tolerant, it blooms longest with occasional deep soaks and sharp drainage.

✂️Pruning

Deadhead spent blooms often to keep flowers coming through the long season; shear the whole plant back if it gets ragged in midsummer.

🌱Fertilizing

None needed; rich soil reduces flowering and shortens its life.

🛡️Pests

Trouble-free apart from occasional aphids.

☀️Seasonal Notes

A warm-season annual (short-lived perennial in mild winters); sow fall through spring for late-spring-to-fall bloom, and it reseeds generously.

Soil, Feeding & Propagation

🪨Soil

Lean, sandy or gravelly, sharply drained soils; heat-tolerant; rich soil shortens its life.

💧Drainage

Needs sharp, fast-draining soil.

🌱Nutrient Needs

None — thrives in lean desert soil without fertilizer.

🌰Propagation

Seed; sow fall through spring and it reseeds generously (can overwinter as a short-lived perennial in mild winters).

📐Spacing

1.5 ft

🌳Roots & Placement

Minimal; short-lived and shallow-rooted, renewed by heavy reseeding.

Placement Tips

•Mass in a pollinator bed or meadow for a long-running blanket of hot bicolor daisies.
•Deadhead in high-visibility spots to keep it tidy and continuously blooming.
•Let it reseed for a self-renewing drift year after year.
•Full sun and reflected heat; one of the most heat-proof annual color sources.