How to Care for Blanket Flowers

A single blanket flower

Native to North America, blanket flowers are colorful, showy flowers that can be grown as annual or perennial plants, depending on your climate. Also known as Gaillardia, blanket flowers can be grown in USDA hardiness zones 3 through 11. Blanket flowers' beautiful daisy-like blossoms bloom from June to October, adding a vibrant splash of color to your home landscape. Learning to care for your blanket flowers is surprisingly simple. In addition to their appeal in the home landscape, blanket flowers also make lovely cut flowers.

Things You'll Need

• Shovel
• Spade
• Coarse builder's sand
• Garden hose or watering can
• Water soluble fertilizer
• Pruning shears

Instructions

1. Plant your blanket flowers in a full sun location where they will receive six to eight hours of direct sunlight per day. Select a planting location that offers your blanket flowers dry soil that is not overly fertile. Amend fertile or heavy clay soils by tilling coarse builder's sand into the top 10 inches of soil to make it more suitable for growing blanket flowers.

2. Water your blanket flowers to thoroughly moisten the soil after planting. Water your blanket flowers twice a week for the first three weeks, or until established. Continue to water your blanket flowers at least once a week after they are established. Make sure to provide your blanket flowers with 1 inch of water each week during hot, dry spells.

3. Fertilize your blanket flowers after planting to encourage them to produce healthy blooms and foliage. Use a half-strength solution of a water-soluble fertilizer like Miracle Grow, Blooms Plus or Grow More applied according to package directions. Continue to fertilize your blanket flowers every two to three weeks with the diluted fertilizer.

4. Encourage your blanket flowers to produce additional blossoms by pinching or snipping off the withered blossoms, as needed. Use only sharpened and sterilized pruning tools if cutting the dead blossoms off of your blanket flowers.

5. Prune discolored, diseased or dead blooms and foliage from your blanket flowers, as necessary, to maintain an attractive appearance. Use sharpened and sterilized pruning tools to make clean cuts when removing problem foliage.

Tips & Warnings

• According to the University of Illinois, blanket flower is reported to be deer resistant and can be planted around other garden plants that you want to discourage local wildlife from eating.

• Monitor your blanket flowers for signs of aphid infestation. Treat an infestation of aphids organically by releasing live ladybugs onto your blanket flowers. If the problem persists, treat the infestation with a garden insecticide product.

References

• University of Florida IFAS Extension: Blanket Flower
• Utah State University Extension: Blanketflower
• Michigan State University Extension: Blanketflower
• University of Illinois Extension: Blanket Flower
• "The Wildflower Book"; Donald Stokes; 1992

Resources

• Texas A&M University: Blanketflower
• Martha Stewart: Blanket Flower