New "Amber Wheels" is one of the hybrids that favor certain colors in the native gaillardia color scheme. Like "Burgundy" which favors the red, this beauty favors the gold. With two shades of golden yellow in every petal, saving the reddish colors for the button center. The Gaillardias are one of the great glories of American wildflowers, carpeting whole landscapes to the horizon in the plains states and the west. The natives are the famous yellow and white pinwheel bicolors. In our wildflower seed department, we sell the much-loved annual, Indian Blanket, and the native perennial as well, G. aristata, often called Blanket Flower.
But hybridizers are always anxious to "improve" native plants, no matter how beautiful they may be. And in this case, they have. "Goblin" is one of the oldest, and still probably the most popular hybrid, with very large flowers and a long bloom season.
Many other newer hybrids emphasize one color or the other--the red or the yellow. And in very recent years, even the flower form has changed. With "Fanfare," we were introduced to gaillardias with tubular ray petals, each one a miniature flaring trumpet. Now that form is expanded with the exciting new "Commotion" group. And the stunning new "Dakota Reveille" has turned the whole flower into a fluffy ball of petals.
All are great garden perennials, tough as oaks, great for color, and as dependable as they come.
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Botanical Name: Gaillardia aristata
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Common Name: Blanket Flower
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Color: Deep yellow petals with a amber red center
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Spread/Width: Up to 18" wide
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Bloom Time: Mid summer to early fall
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Soil Preferences: Needs light, well-drained soil. Will not tolerate heavy clay soil.
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Advantages: Attracts butterflies. Excellent cut flower.
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