Dig into Plants: Blanket Flower

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Blanket Flower

Other Common Names: Indian Blanket Flower, Indian Blanket, Firewheel, Girasol Rojo

Scientific Name: Gaillardia pulchella

Native to Alabama: Yes

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center – Campbell and Lynn Loughmiller

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Basic Plant Information

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center – Campbell and Lynn Loughmiller

I am a vascular plant with no woody stems above ground, so I am herbaceous.
I do not keep leaves year-round, so I am deciduous.
I complete my life cycle in one growing season and die in the winter, so I am annual.
I can grow 1 – 1.5 feet high and 0.5 – 1 feet wide.

Ecological Benefits

This plant provides food for:

Butterflies

Native Bees

Other Pollinators

Other Birds

Other Plants Found in Alabama with Similar Ecological Benefits:

Lanceleaf Blanketflower
(Gaillardia aestivalis)

Great Blanketflower/Brown-eyed Susan
(Gaillardia aristata)

Maintenance Notes

Flowers can be cut for an indoor vase.
Bloom period can be lengthened by deadheading (cutting back) spent flowers.
Dormant in winter.
Will not survive water-logged soil.
When watering, hold hose to base of plant for a count of 5 seconds. Water should reach all roots.
Avoid sprinkling water on the leaves.
Requires average amount of water.

Average watering: water two times per week during the summer and once per week during the rest of the year.

Habitat Requirements

This plant prefers:

Full Sun
(6+ hours of sun per day)

Part Sun/ Shade
(2-6 hours of sun per day)

Average Watering

Well-drained, Sandy,
or Loamy Soil

Leaf, Flower & Seed Identification

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center – Wildflower Center Staff

LEAF DESCRIPTION

Hairy branched stems usually become woody at the base; mostly leafy near the base and leafless at the top; lower leaves are petiolate (have a stalk) and upper leaves are sessile (attached directly to stem); leaves are hairy, gray-green, and up to 3 inches long, margins range from entire to toothed to lobed

Leaf Characteristics Chart (JPG)


Shape: Lanceolate	Margin: Entire

Margin: Serrate	Margin: Lobed

Arrangement: Alternate	Form: Simple

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center – Randy Heisch

FLOWER DESCRIPTION

Flower heads 1-2 inches in diameter with red center and yellow outer band; ray florets (narrow, petal-like, infertile floret that surround the disk) are red at the base and yellow at the tip, each with 3 teeth at the broad end; disk florets (tubular, fertile floret that forms disk) are reddish brown; flowers are sometimes all red or yellow

Flower Shapes Chart (JPG)


Color: Red, yellow, brown	Shape: Radiate/ ligulate	Bloom Months: May – Aug

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center – Bruce Leander

SEED DESCRIPTION

Plant spreads by:
Seeds
Re-seeds readily in optimal growing conditions


Type: Fruit - Dry Seed Pod	Description: seed pod is small, black, and awned (has hair- or bristle-like appendage)	Months in Seed: Summer – Fall

Plant Life Cycle

Plant Life Cycle:

All plants start life as a seed.
The seed turns into a sprout when it grows roots.
The sprout becomes a seedling as grows a stem and leaves above the ground.
After the seedling becomes an adult plant it will grow flowers.

General Plant Life Cycle – Dreamstime

Plant Life Cycle continues:

After the flowers finish blooming, each flower turns into a seed.
When the seeds fall down to the ground, the plant life cycle starts again.
Each seed can become a plant if it has the food, water and space that it needs to grow.

Lady Bird Johnsol Wildflower Center – Steven Schwartzman

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR TEACHERS

Quick Fact Sheet
(Condensed Species Info)

Plant ID Sign (Text Only):
Ready as-is PDF

Plant ID Sign (With Picture):
Ready as-is PDF

QR Code
(Links to this Webpage)

Plant ID Sign (Text Only):
Editable Word Doc

Plant ID Sign (With Picture):
Editable Word Doc

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