Blanketflower

Gaillardia pulchella

Blanket flower or Indian blanket is a coastal plant that is found growing in interdune swales from Melbourne, Florida north to Virginia. It is very drought and salt tolerant and reseeds itself for years. You can find this wildflower growing just a few feet back from the loose sand on the beach.

The 2.5 inch wide flowers are on 18 inch tall stalks that may continue flowering for almost a year, or at least three months. It will get an anthracnose fungus disease if wet. The result is mushy leaves. This is also a prairie plant and is found in the Western United States.

Mix Blanketflower with other beach plants like Dune Sunflower, Salvia, Beach Verbena, Southern Beebalm, Sea Oats, Blue Curls, Key Lily, Sea Lavender, Bay Cedar, Golden Creeper, Partridge Pea, Beach Bean, Cakile, Beach Elder, Beach Cocoplum and Sunshine Mimosa.

I have planted this in dry areas of my yard and had it come back from seed for over five years. You can easily add it to other areas by picking the gray seed buttons and rubbing the seeds loose wherever you want them. Wear gloves for this.

There may be a few flowerless months during the winter when the old plants die back and the new seedlings take over.

It is now believed by many plant experts that gaillardia is not native to Florida. There are records of it being found along our beaches in the 1700’s though. Even if it isn’t native to Florida, I think that it offers enough to our birds, bees, butterflies and other pollinators to have a place in our gardens. Click here, and here.

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