blanket flower (Gaillardia × grandiflora), photographi

How to Grow Blanket Flower

Gaillardia × grandiflora · Zones 7-10

Blanket Flower is a perennial grown for its red blooms, which open in summer and return year after year. It's hardy across USDA zones 7 through 10, shrugs off deer, shrugs off dry spells, and grows just as well in a container as in the ground. Its summer flowers are a real draw for honeybees, native bees, and butterflies.

Blanket Flower — the short answer

Blanket Flower: grown in zones 7–10, full sun, pH 6–7.

USDA zones
7–10
Manual horticultural correction (source not retained); NC State Extension and Missouri Botanical Garden, with the remaining rows from other published sources or Growable Ground compilation
Soil pH
6–7
Growable Ground Plant Database
Sun
Full Sun
Growable Ground Plant Database

Plant data: Growable Ground Plant Database, compiled from FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS and university Extension sources — each tile names its own row's source, because per-field provenance varies.

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What Blanket Flower is

Blanket Flower grows as a perennial and reaches around two feet at maturity. It blooms red in summer. It's also deer-resistant and well suited to containers.

How to grow Blanket Flower

Blanket Flower grows in USDA zones 7 through 10. Blanket Flower does best in full sun — at least 6 hours of direct sun a day — and soil from pH 6 to 7, on fast-draining ground.

USDA Zones

7-10

USDA PHZM 2023

Soil pH

6 - 7

Growable Ground Plant Database

Sun

Full Sun

Growable Ground plant catalog

Drainage

excessive (dry/moderately dry)

Growable Ground plant catalog

Mature Height

2 ft

Growable Ground plant catalog

  1. Start the season right

    Plant blanket flower in full sun with at least 6 hours of direct sun, once the soil has warmed and frost risk has passed.

  2. Match the soil

    Blanket Flower prefers pH 6 to 7 (Growable Ground Plant Database). A quick soil test from your local Extension lab tells you whether to add lime or sulfur to land in band.

  3. Water steadily

    Keep the root zone evenly moist through establishment. Match watering to the plant's drainage preference and your local rainfall.

  4. Harvest at its peak

    Cut blanket flower blooms in the cool of the morning, just as they open, for the longest display.

Where Blanket Flower thrives

Blanket Flower is hardy across USDA zones 7 through 10. Zone is only the starting point, though: the soil pH, drainage, and frost dates on your specific land decide how well it actually does.

A USDA zone is a 10°F band of average annual extreme winter minimum, so zones 710 spans average winter lows from 0°F to 40°F (USDA PHZM 2023). Across the 50 states and DC, that band covers 7 outright and splits 34 more down the middle — and which side of that line your land sits on changes the answer.

Zones 7–10 highlighted on the USDA national hardiness zone map

Zones 7–10·Where Blanket Flower growsOpen map →

Where Blanket Flower stands, state by state

Blanket Flower is rated for zones 710 — a cold floor USDA puts at 0 to 10°F. Across the 50 states and DC, 7 sit fully inside that band, the line runs through 34 more, and 10 sit outside it — and inside every split state, the same line runs on at county grain.

Fully inside zones 7–10

7 states

3 of 7 shown

The line runs through

34 states

3 of 34 shown

Blanket Flower’s band covers part of each of these states — which side of the line your county sits on changes the answer, and each state page draws it.

Outside zones 7–10

10 states

3 of 10 shown

Winter cold is the limit here — the same plant often works in a container that comes under cover. Each link is that state’s own growing hub.

State zone extents: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM) 2023. A zone is a 10°F band of average annual extreme minimum temperature, so a state that splits the band contains the boundary — its own page draws the county line, and a parcel report resolves which side your land sits on.

What grows around Blanket Flower

In rotation planning, blanket flower counts as a Other — beds recover best when other crops don’t follow each other in the same spot year over year. (Growable Ground derivation — crop-rotation group from botanical family)

Good to know

Good news for pet owners — blanket flower isn't known to be toxic to dogs or cats. (Source: ASPCA.)

Blanket Flower is a standout pollinator plant — high value to bees and other pollinators. (Source: Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.)

Your land is one point inside Blanket Flower's range

This page resolves to the species. Your state page draws the county line, and a report reads the parcel — the soil pH, drainage, sun, and frost dates on your exact ground, which no species average can see.

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See if Blanket Flower will thrive on your land

Zone averages are a start. Your exact soil pH, drainage, sun exposure, and frost dates shape whether blanket flower actually takes — we score it against the real conditions at your address.

Three things about your exact spot that zone averages miss:

Your soil pHYour frost-free daysYour sun & shade

We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.

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How we know this about Blanket Flower

The figures above are cited per row, not per site: the pH band names this plant’s own source column, the three temperature figures each carry their own, and days-to-maturity cites the publication that actually lists it. All of it comes from the Growable Ground Plant Database — a compilation over FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS, and university Extension sources, published openly with per-field provenance.

Grounded inUSDA PLANTS DatabaseUSDA PHZMASPCA

Frequently asked questions

Can I grow Blanket Flower in my zone?

Blanket Flower grows in USDA hardiness zones 7 through 10 (USDA PHZM 2023). Zone is one factor — soil pH, drainage, and frost dates on your specific parcel also shape whether it takes.

When should you plant Blanket Flower?

Most growers plant blanket flower after the last spring frost, once the soil has warmed. Your local frost dates set the exact window — a Growable Ground report reads them for your address.

How much sun does Blanket Flower need?

Blanket Flower needs full sun — a spot that catches at least 6 hours of direct summer sun a day. In more shade it still grows, but usually gives a smaller, later crop. The catch is that a yard rarely gets even light everywhere — a fence, the house, or one tall tree can quietly take those hours. A Growable Ground report reads the real sun-hours across your land, canopy and buildings included, so you can pick the brightest bed before you plant.

What soil does Blanket Flower need?

Blanket Flower prefers soil pH 6 to 7, on fast-draining ground (Growable Ground Plant Database). Your report scores your parcel's actual soil against that using USDA SSURGO data.

Does Blanket Flower attract pollinators?

Yes — blanket flower's flowers are a strong nectar and pollen source for honeybees, native bees, and butterflies. (Source: Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.)

Is Blanket Flower safe for pets?

Blanket Flower is not known to be toxic to dogs or cats based on available data. Always supervise pets around new plantings. (Source: ASPCA.)