Gaillardia Low Rider™
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Gaillardia Low Rider™: Red and Yellow Blooms Riding Low
This blanket flower stays low, stays tight and keeps blooming until the season packs it in. Red daisies trimmed in yellow sit just above a dense little mound. SHORT, SPICY AND STUBBORN.
Plant Characteristics:
- Botanical Name: Gaillardia aristata 'Balgailrey113'
- Common Name: Blanket Flower
- Series: Bloomin' Easy®
- Height: 20–25 cm (8–10 in)
- Spread: 25–30 cm (10–12 in)
- Flowers: Red daisies with yellow edges, held just above the leaves
- Bloom Time: Early summer to fall (June to October)
- Foliage: Green to grey-green, in a dense, compact mound
- Features: Reblooming, heat tolerant
Where to Plant: Low Rider™ is built for the very front of the bed. Use it to edge a sunny path, fill a gap in a rock garden, or spill over the rim of a container or window box. It's small enough for balconies and narrow city beds.
Companion Plants: Perovskia 'Blue Jean Baby' rises behind this compact red gaillardia with soft lavender spires from midsummer to early fall. Add Asclepias 'Gay Butterflies' in the middle for clusters of orange in July and August, which pick up the warm tones and bring in butterflies. Salvia Sallyrosa™ April Night fills the front with violet spikes from late spring to early fall, so the colour starts before the blanket flower. Give the whole group full sun and good drainage.
Plant Care: Plant in full sun in average to lean, well-drained soil. Sandy or gravelly ground is ideal. Rich, wet soil makes blanket flowers floppy and short-lived, and heavy clay that stays soggy in winter is the main reason they don't come back. If you garden on clay, plant on a slope, in a raised bed, or work in grit first. Water regularly the first season, then only during long dry spells. Skip the fertilizer. Deadhead spent flowers to keep new buds coming. Blanket flowers can be short-lived. Cutting the plant back by about half in late summer encourages fresh leafy growth that helps it through winter, and dividing every two or three years in spring keeps it vigorous. Leave the foliage in place over winter and tidy it up in spring.
History: Low Rider™ is a modern selection of Gaillardia aristata, introduced through the Bloomin' Easy® program. The species grows wild on the dry grasslands of western North America, including the Canadian prairies.
Final Thoughts: Heat doesn't bother it and the deer don't bother with it. PLANT IT AT THE FRONT AND LET IT WORK THE DOUBLE SHIFT.
