Blanket flower (Gaillardia × grandiflora 'Sun Devil')
The compact Gaillardia × grandiflora 'Sun Devil' (Blanket flower) offers showy red/yellow summer blooms. Low maintenance perennial ideal for sunny, dry conditions.
Scroll down to discover growing tips, care requirements, companion plants, and more
Complete Plant Information
Overview
Gaillardia × grandiflora ‘Sun Devil’ brings vibrant, long-lasting color to the garden, living up to its common name, Blanket flower. This compact selection showcases striking red and yellow bicolor daisy-like flowers reliably from early summer right through September, making it a powerhouse performer in hot, sunny borders. Derived from a cross between perennial and annual Gaillardias, this hybrid inherits the best traits: robust growth and extended bloom time.
This herbaceous perennial is highly valued for its low maintenance requirements and exceptional resilience, especially regarding dry spells once established. It thrives in full sun, providing excellent aesthetic value while attracting beneficial pollinators to the landscape. Gardeners seeking reliable, drought-tolerant color will find the Blanket flower an indispensable addition.
The mature size of Gaillardia × grandiflora ‘Sun Devil’ is commendably uniform, typically reaching only about one foot tall and wide. This neat stature ensures it fits perfectly into front-of-border designs without becoming overgrown, delivering a consistent punch of warm color throughout the season.
Fast Facts
- Plant Family: Asteraceae
- Plant Type: Herbaceous perennial
- Hardiness Zones: USDA Zones 3-9
- Size at Maturity:
- Height: 0.75-1 ft
- Spread: 0.75-1 ft
- Bloom Time: June to September
- Bloom Description: Red and yellow bicolor
- Sun Exposure: Full sun
- Water Needs: Dry to medium
- Maintenance Level: Low
How to Grow
The best time to establish Gaillardia × grandiflora ‘Sun Devil’ is after the last frost date, either by setting out purchased seedlings or transplants started indoors 4-6 weeks prior. For the richest bloom, site this Blanket flower cultivar in a location receiving full sun exposure daily. While it tolerates average, well-drained soils, avoid heavy, unamended clay, which may lead to root rot, particularly during extended summer rains. Ideal spacing is 12 to 18 inches apart to allow adequate air circulation.
Watering requirements for established plants are minimal; they prefer dry to medium moisture levels, reflecting their drought tolerance. Fertilizing is generally unnecessary, as excessive richness can reduce flowering performance. Deadheading spent blooms isn’t strictly required for continued flowering, but it tidies the appearance.
If flowering begins to wane in the midsummer heat, an intentional cutback can rejuvenate the plants, encouraging a fresh flush of blooms well into the fall. If you allow the seed heads to remain, self-seeding may occur in optimal conditions, potentially leading to new Blanket flower colonies.
Landscape Uses
Gaillardia × grandiflora ‘Sun Devil’ is an excellent choice for gardeners focusing on low-input, high-impact plantings. Its compact habit makes it perfectly suited for defined perennial borders, softening edges, or creating blocks of continuous color. Because of its hardiness and preference for drier conditions, it integrates beautifully into cottage gardens where it mixes well with other sun-lovers like Sedum or Coreopsis.
This plant excels when naturalized in wilder areas or slopes where digging and amending soil is difficult. The vibrant red and yellow coloration of the Blanket flower offers excellent contrast against cooler-toned foliage plants like Lamb’s Ears or silvery Artemisia. Furthermore, the blooms of Gaillardia × grandiflora ‘Sun Devil’ make outstanding, contemporary fresh cut flowers.
Standout Features
Flower Qualities
- Showy
- Good Cut
Noteworthy Characteristics
Gaillardia × grandiflora is a tetraploid hybrid resulting from a cross between a 3’ tall perennial gaillardia (G. Aristata) and a 2’ tall annual gaillardia (G. Pulchella), inheriting its perennial habit from the former and its long flowering period and rapid growth rate from the latter. Features daisy-like flowers (3-4” diameter) with warm color arrangements. ‘Sun Devil’ is specifically noted as a compact selection of hybrid blanket flower that features a long-lasting display of 3” wide blooms atop sturdy stems from early summer to early fall.
Tolerances
- Drought
Potential Problems
The most significant risk to Gaillardia × grandiflora ‘Sun Devil’ involves moisture management: root rot can develop if soils remain persistently soggy, especially during heavy summer downpours. Cultivars of Blanket flower are also susceptible to common fungal issues like powdery mildew and fungal leaf spot diseases, though good air circulation helps mitigate these risks. Gardeners should also be vigilant for signs of aster yellows, a serious condition transmitted by leafhoppers. Proper soil drainage and avoiding overhead watering during humid periods are key preventative measures.
Frequently Asked Questions
What hardiness zones is Blanket flower suitable for?
Gaillardia × grandiflora ‘Sun Devil’ is hardy across a wide range, thriving in USDA Zones 3 through 9.
How large does Gaillardia × grandiflora ‘Sun Devil’ grow?
When mature, this compact selection typically reaches a height between 0.75 and 1 foot tall, with a similar spread of 0.75 to 1 foot wide.
What sun exposure does Blanket flower need?
For the best performance, longevity, and prolific blooming from June to September, Gaillardia × grandiflora ‘Sun Devil’ requires full sun exposure daily.
When does Gaillardia × grandiflora ‘Sun Devil’ bloom?
The peak bloom time for this variety is June to September, producing eye-catching red and yellow bicolor flowers.
Conclusion
The selection of Gaillardia × grandiflora ‘Sun Devil’ guarantees low-effort, high-reward gardening, thanks to its drought tolerance and season-long display of vibrant blossoms. This compact Blanket flower is highly adaptable, making it a reliable feature in sunny perennial beds. Ensure you select a site with full sun and well-draining soil to maximize the performance of your new Gaillardia × grandiflora ‘Sun Devil’.
Wildlife Benefits
As a sun-loving perennial, the Blanket flower is an excellent resource for supporting local insect populations. Its daisy-like structure, featuring a prominent center disk, is highly attractive to many beneficial native bees and butterflies seeking nectar across the long bloom season. Planting multiple units of Gaillardia × grandiflora ‘Sun Devil’ creates larger visual targets that are more easily spotted by foraging pollinators.
For winter interest, gardeners in areas with goldfinches should consider leaving some of the spent flowerheads intact after the color fades in the fall. Finches are known to feed on the seeds held within the dried flower structures, providing a natural food source during colder months when other provisions are scarce.
