Does anyone here grow gaillardia? Are they long lived plants or only last a few years? What do you think of the named varieties that are on the market?

I have Arizona Sun comes back every year. I never had any luck with oranges and lemons died every time. I have not had the new varietes, so no help there. They sure are beautiful when in bloom.

Gaillardias don't seem to like my clay soil - duh - Oranges and Lemons also did not come back for me. Neither did the box store standard red/orange. Did have an Amber Wheels overwinter and I just moved it to the only sandy soil spot in my entire yard. Seems to like it, has perked up and started shooting out a lot more buds. Was just given three Reveille so will try putting them in the same area and see. Sorry I don't have more extensive information for you, but I would be interested to know what other people have experienced and am glad you started the thread.

In your zone, I would try one or two and see what happens. I have heard they aren't as hardy in a very cold zone. Seed varieties are very good now. You can start from seeds and get blooms the first year if sown early indoors. I would grow them even if they were annuals. Nothing comes close to their long bloom season. They love good drainage and I always mix sand in the spot I plant them. So far all have always returned for me. Put them in the hottest, driest spot you have.

I started Dazzler from seed (in the ground) last year and it bloomed late. They wintered over just fine here. I have two plantings of it on opposite parts of my garden (south facing and north/west/east. Open area with no coverage.

I was trying to find a pic from last year but can't find it yet.

I wintersow gaillardia. Even wintersown they bloom the first year.

They're short-lived for me in my clay soil, too, usually only lasting a couple of years. Goblins are my favorite. They stay a short, neat mound throughout their lives.Taller ones always get knocked down by storms here. This is a wintersown one in June.


Same one July 4th


Propagation tip: With a knife, cut into the root ball in fall. Make several cuts radially, like spokes of a bicycle tire, around the plant. In spring, new little plants pop up around the plant.

Karen

Good tip! Love the vivid colors of these plants.

Thanks for the tip Karen. I've always started these from seed.

Thanks for the tip. I have one called 'Mesa Yellow' that is perfect. I like the solid yellow bloom color. It is short and full. It has been blooming since March. That one I grew from seeds. This year I planted Arizona Apricot and Arizona Red. It's good that these have so many options now! Butterflies and bees love these plants. They are great replacements for those Orange, yellow, and red Echinaceas that don't come back each year reliably.

I grew them from seeds from Seeds of Change years ago and they reseed very well. The individual plants last a few years so I consider them a short lived perennial.

Great tip! I am going to start collecting Gaillardia seeds and maybe get one more plant for this year. How hard is it to get seeds off these plants? I love that Arizona Red and there is another red called Arizona Sun, do you have that one?

it's very easy to get the seeds off the plants.

Thanks for all the information and tips everyone. I ordered some to add to a raised bed that has very good drainage. I made sure to pay attention to zone hardiness when ordering will see how they do here.

tabby said:it's very easy to get the seeds off the plants.

Thanks tabby! BTW, I love the picture you posted.

Karen, I LOVE those color combinations. And thank you for the propagation tip.

Did not think about these reseeding; grateful for the information.

Agree with Susan on the photo.

Love the photos. Just not enough room for all these gorgeous plants.

For me they just about never overwinter. But they are normally on the inexpensive side so can use as annuals.

They would be worth a little money since they bloom and bloom all summer and fall.

I plant seeds of them so I can get about 20-30 plants for about 3 dollars! They over winter here. In fact, they stay green all winter most years. LOL.

I think they are supposed to be hardy to zone 4 but evidently not. Bob says they are not hardy there and he is in zone 6!