prairie wildflower

Great blanketflower

Gaillardia aristata

Also known as Common Gaillardia, Blanketflower, Brown-eyed Susan

Native to the Rockies and the Pacific Coast and southern Canada

British Columbia to Saskatchewan, south to northern Oregon (mostly east of the Cascades), northern Utah, Colorado and Kansas; also reported in California

Light Full sun Sun tolerance
Moisture Dry Moisture preference
Zones 2–9 Cold to heat range
Bloom Jun–Sep Flowering time
Height up to 4 ft to 1.2 m
Life cycle Perennial Annual to perennial

Full details, see below

In the garden

A prairie wildflower for full sun and lean, dry soil. Its red and yellow flowers peak in June. At up to 4 ft, it suits meadows and sunny borders. It shrugs off drought once established. Hardy in USDA zones 2–9.

Growing conditions

Light

Full sun Partial shade Full shade

Moisture

Dry Moist Wet

Hardiness zones

Find your zone:

When it blooms

The Great blanketflower's red and yellow flowers bloom June to September, peaking in June. This early-summer display draws bees and butterflies.

Great blanketflower blooms red & yellowFoliage

Pollinators & wildlife

Bees Common Eastern Bumble Bee

also Western Honey Bee, Brown-belted Bumble Bee, Two-spotted Bumble Bee +78 more
American Bumble Bee, Yellow-faced Bumble Bee, Ligated Furrow Bee, Tricolored Bumble Bee, Black-tailed Bumble Bee, Bicolored Striped Sweat Bee, Bombus fervidus, Red-belted Bumble Bee, Hunt's Bumble Bee, Two-spotted Longhorn Bee, Perplexing Bumble Bee, Two-form Bumble Bee, Half-black Bumble Bee, Orange-legged Furrow Bee, Yellow-fronted Bumble Bee, Vancouver Bumble Bee, Tripartite Sweat Bee, Agapostemon texanus, California Bumble Bee, Brown-winged Striped Sweat Bee, Nevada Bumble Bee, Great Basin Bumble Bee, Nearctic Bumble Bee, Western Leafcutter Bee, Yellowish Cuckoo Bumble bee, Indiscriminate Cuckoo Bumble Bee, Dark-veined Longhorn Bee, Pugnacious Leafcutter Bee, Lucorum-group Bumble Bees, Parallel Leafcutter Bee, frigid bumble bee, Silver-tailed Petalcutter, Red-footed Cuckoo Leafcutter, Colorado Mason, Variable Pebble Bee, Megachile apicalis, Osmia montana, Agile Longhorn Bee, Megachile brevis, Ceratina dupla, Anthidium mormonum, Big-cheeked Angled-Mason, Truncate Small-Mason, Silver-fronted Small-Mason, California Mason Bee, Elderberry Small-Mason, Melissodes niveus, white-winged sweat bee, Osmia atrocyanea, Red-tailed Bumble Bee, Osmia trevoris, Three-zoned Sweat Bee, Osmia juxta, White-sided Mason Bee, Osmia marginipennis, Megachile pugnata pugnata, Sonoran Bumble Bee, Hill Cuckoo Bumble bee, Common Carder Bumble Bee, Forest Cuckoo Bumble bee, Brown-banded Carder-Bumble bee, Executioner Cuckoo Carder Bee, Megachile lippiae, Ceratina pacifica, Lasioglossum aff.caducum, Lasioglossum succinipenne, Lasioglossum semicaeruleum, Hoplitis hypocrita, Ceratina neomexicana, Horn-faced Leafcutter Bee, Osmia montana montana, Melissodes microsticta, Globemallow chimney bees, Lasioglossum lineatulum, Bombus sp., Coelioxys alternata, Melissodes hymenoxidis, Melissodes saponellus
Butterflies Gulf Fritillary

also Black Swallowtail, Pearl Crescent, Fiery Skipper +37 more
Painted Lady, Gray Hairstreak, Orange Sulphur, Variegated Fritillary, Common Checkered-Skipper and Allies, Clouded Sulphur, Common Ringlet, Common Wood-Nymph, Boisduval's Blue, Northern Checkerspot, Whirlabout, Atlantis Fritillary, Aphrodite Fritillary, Western White, Melissa Blue, Northwestern Fritillary, Gorgone Checkerspot, Christina Sulphur, Edwards's Fritillary, Garita Skipperling, Arogos Skipper, Tawny Crescent, Speyeria atlantis hesperis, Occidryas anicia capella, Parnassius smintheus smintheus, Green Skipper, Colias alexandra, Dotted Checkerspot, Speyeria aphrodite, Speyeria mormonia, Speyeria edwardsii, Polites mystic, Speyeria callippe, Speyeria coronis, Silvery Checkerspot, Atalopedes campestris, Hesperiidae sp.
Flower flies Common Drone Fly

also Western Loopwing Aphideater, Snow's Aphideater, Systoechus oreas +1 more
grasshopper bee fly
Also visited by
- Moths:
  
  Dingy Cutworm Moth, Topiary Grass-veneer +1 more
  Police Car Moth
- Beetles: Sutured Longhorn Beetle, Cortodera subpilosa

Butterflies that use this plant

Documented host and nectar records. Each links to a planting guide for that butterfly.

Full plant details

Where it grows

Habitat: PrairieThe wild plant community it grows in.
Native range: The Rockies and the Pacific Coast and southern CanadaUnited States (9): CO, ID, MT, ND, OR, SD, UT, WA, WY. Canada (3): AB, BC, SK. Where it grows wild on its own, by state and province.
Native distribution: British Columbia to Saskatchewan, south to northern Oregon (mostly east of the Cascades), northern Utah, Colorado and Kansas; also reported in CaliforniaThe same native range, usually more exact than the state list, and often noting where it has spread beyond it.

Growing conditions

Light: Full sunHow much sun it takes, from full sun to full shade.
Moisture: DryThe soil dampness it prefers, from dry to wet.
Hardiness zones: USDA 2–9 · Canadian 1–7The cold-to-heat climate range it survives.
Soil: Well-drained, infertile soilThe soils it grows in naturally.
Soil pH: 5.5–7.9The acidity to alkalinity it tolerates (7 is neutral).
Soil quality: LowHow rich a soil it needs. Many natives prefer lean soil and flop in rich beds.
Water use: MediumHow thirsty it is, a rough guide to how often to water.
Drought tolerance: HighRelative to plants of the same type and region, inferred from where it grows, not a days-without-water figure.
Salinity tolerance: LowHow well it copes with salty soil, near roads or the coast.
Lime (CaCO₃) tolerance: MediumHow well it copes with chalky, lime-rich soil.

Growth & form

Height: up to 4 ft (to 1.2 m)Typical mature height.
Life cycle: PerennialWhether it lives a single season (annual), two (biennial), or returns for years (perennial).
Growth rate: ModerateA relative ranking versus other plants of the same type (USDA), not an absolute rate.
Shape: ErectIts overall silhouette.
Root depth: 16+ in (41+ cm)How far the roots reach, a guide to drought resilience and transplanting.

Flowers, foliage & fruit

Type: WildflowerWhat kind of plant it is.
Bloom: Jun–SepWhen it flowers.
Flower color: Red, YellowThe bloom color, or colors.
Fruit/Seeds: ripens Jun–SepThe seed or fruit it sets after flowering.
Toxicity: None knownWhether any part is poisonous to people or pets.

Propagation & seed

Cold stratification: Not requiredWhether seed needs a cold, moist spell before it will germinate.
Propagation: SeedHow to start new plants.
Seed: ~0.2 million seeds per poundNotes on the seed and how to sow it.
Seed spread rate: SlowHow readily it self-sows. Slow or none means well-behaved, not a spreader.
Seedling vigor: MediumHow strongly young seedlings establish.
Vegetative spread: NoneWhether it creeps outward or stays put in a clump.