Blanket Flower Starter Plant – Gaillardia Perennial Live Plug – Easy Grow

Overview

Introduce a burst of fiery color and effortless charm to your garden with this blanket flower starter plant, scientifically known as Gaillardia. This hardy perennial is renowned for its vibrant, daisy-like blooms, typically featuring striking shades of red and yellow, reminiscent of a colorful blanket spread across the landscape. Our blanket flower starter plant is a healthy, live rooted plug, ready to establish quickly in your garden beds, borders, or containers. Ideal for gardeners seeking a low-maintenance yet spectacular addition, Gaillardia offers continuous flowering from early summer until frost, ensuring a long season of visual delight. It’s a fantastic choice for those looking to create a dynamic and appealing outdoor space with an easy grow flowers option.

This particular Gaillardia perennial is celebrated for its resilience and adaptability. Unlike many annuals that require replanting each year, Gaillardia reliably returns season after season, providing enduring beauty with minimal fuss. Its cheerful disposition and drought-tolerant nature make it a favorite among eco-conscious gardeners and those in regions with hot, dry summers. Attracting beneficial pollinators like butterflies and bees, the blanket flower starter plant not only beautifies your space but also contributes to a healthy local ecosystem. It’s truly a versatile and rewarding plant for nearly any garden setting.

Key Benefits

Transform your garden into a lively haven with the numerous advantages offered by the blanket flower starter plant. Its captivating blooms and robust nature provide both aesthetic appeal and environmental benefits. The blanket flower starter plant is the perfect choice for vibrant, enduring color.

• Vibrant, Long-Lasting Blooms: Enjoy a season-long display of cheerful red and yellow flowers that bring continuous color to your garden from summer through fall. These eye-catching blooms are a true highlight.
• Attracts Pollinators: This Gaillardia perennial is a magnet for butterflies and bees, supporting local ecosystems and encouraging biodiversity in your garden. It’s a vital plant for any pollinator patch.
• Drought-Tolerant & Resilient: Once established, blanket flowers are incredibly tolerant of dry conditions and poor soil, making them a superb choice for water-wise gardening and challenging spots. This resilience makes it an ideal drought tolerant plant.
• Low Maintenance: Requires minimal care, thriving with basic watering and occasional deadheading. This makes it an excellent option for busy gardeners or beginners looking for easy grow flowers.
• Perennial Nature: Unlike annuals, this plant returns year after year, saving you time and effort on replanting while providing reliable beauty. Its perennial habit ensures long-term enjoyment.
• Versatile Garden Use: Perfect for beds, borders, rock gardens, containers, or naturalized areas, adding a splash of color wherever it’s planted. Its adaptability is a key feature.
• Healthy Starter Plant: You receive a robust live rooted plug, ensuring a strong start and quick establishment in your chosen location. This provides a head start to your garden.

Plant Care & Growing Tips

Ensuring the success of your blanket flower starter plant is straightforward, thanks to its naturally hardy disposition. These plants thrive in conditions that might challenge other flowers, making them a rewarding choice for many gardeners. For optimal growth, plant your Gaillardia perennial in well-drained soil, whether in the ground or in containers. They prefer full sun, meaning at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight per day. Adequate sunlight is crucial for maximizing bloom production and maintaining dense, healthy foliage. If planting in a landscape, space them about 12-16 inches apart to allow for mature growth and good air circulation. For container planting, a gallon-size pot or larger is recommended.

Watering should be consistent during the initial establishment phase. For the first season, water regularly to help the plant develop a strong, deep root system. Once established, the blanket flower starter plant is remarkably drought-tolerant, requiring only occasional watering, especially during prolonged dry spells. Allow the soil to dry slightly between waterings to prevent root rot. Deadheading spent blooms regularly will encourage continuous flowering throughout the growing season, extending the vibrant display. In early spring, cut back the plant to about 3 inches above the ground to promote fresh, vigorous new growth. This simple maintenance routine will keep your drought tolerant plant looking its best.

Blanket flowers are generally unfussy about soil type, tolerating even poor soils, but good drainage is essential. They are hardy in USDA Zones 4-9 for varieties like ‘Gusto’ and ‘Sunrita’, and Zones 3-9 for ‘Spintop’. This wide hardiness range makes them suitable for a broad array of climates. Fertilization is typically not necessary in rich soils, but in very poor conditions, a light application of a balanced slow-release fertilizer in spring can be beneficial. Watch out for common pests like aphids, though they are generally not a major problem. With these simple tips, your live rooted plug will flourish, providing an abundance of beautiful, easy grow flowers.

Size & Details

This offering is for a healthy blanket flower starter plant, provided as a live rooted plug. Each seedling arrives in a small plug-sized container, typically 1 inch x 1 inch x 1 1/4 inches, ensuring the root system is intact and ready for transplanting. While plant sizes may vary slightly due to their natural growth, you can expect a robust young plant poised for rapid establishment. Once mature, this Gaillardia perennial typically reaches a height of 10 to 14 inches and spreads 12 to 18 inches wide, forming an attractive, mounding habit. Its compact size makes it suitable for various garden applications, from front borders to patio containers. Expect continuous blooming from early summer until the first frost.

These plants are shipped in their small nursery pots to protect the delicate root structure during transit. For best results, we recommend establishing them in a 3 to 4-inch pot for a few weeks before transplanting directly into the landscape, especially if you’re in a cooler climate. This period allows the roots to expand and better acclimate to their new environment. The blanket flower starter plant is known for its relatively fast growth rate, quickly developing into a substantial flowering specimen. Its ability to tolerate various conditions, including being a resilient drought tolerant plant, makes it a reliable choice for gardeners of all experience levels.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Q: How big will my blanket flower starter plant get? A: Once mature, your Gaillardia perennial will typically reach a height of 10 to 14 inches and spread 12 to 18 inches wide. The size can vary slightly based on growing conditions and specific variety.
• Q: What size pot does the starter plant come in? A: Each live rooted plug comes in a small, plug-sized container, approximately 1 inch x 1 inch x 1 1/4 inches, with a healthy root system ready for transplanting.
• Q: Is this an indoor or outdoor plant? A: The blanket flower starter plant is primarily an outdoor plant, thriving in full sun conditions. While it can be started indoors, it should be moved outside for optimal growth and flowering.
• Q: How much sunlight does this drought tolerant plant need? A: Blanket flowers require full sun, meaning at least 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight daily, to produce the most abundant blooms and maintain healthy growth.
• Q: Is this plant easy to care for? A: Yes, blanket flowers are considered very easy to care for, making them an excellent choice for beginners and experienced gardeners alike. They are known for being easy grow flowers.
• Q: What condition will my live rooted plug arrive in? A: Your plant will arrive as a healthy, live rooted plug in a small nursery pot, carefully packaged to ensure its well-being during transit. It will be ready for transplanting.
• Q: When is the best time to plant blanket flowers? A: These starter plants can be planted in spring after the last frost, or in early summer. Establishing them in a slightly larger pot before ground planting is often beneficial.
• Q: What hardiness zones are suitable for this Gaillardia perennial? A: Blanket flowers are hardy in USDA Zones 4-9 for many varieties, and some, like ‘Spintop’, are hardy from Zone 3-9, making them suitable for a wide range of climates.
• Q: Do I need to deadhead these flowers? A: While not strictly necessary for survival, deadheading spent blooms will encourage your blanket flower starter plant to produce more flowers throughout the season, leading to a more continuous display.
• Q: Will this plant attract pollinators? A: Absolutely! Blanket flowers are well-known for attracting butterflies and bees, making them a valuable addition to any pollinator-friendly garden.