Arizona Sun Blanket Flower

Gaillardia x grandiflora 'Arizona Sun'

flower

Arizona Sun is a compact blanket flower (Gaillardia x grandiflora) bearing 3 in. daisies ringed in fiery red and tipped in gold, in the bold bicolor pattern of the native species, over a low 10 to 12 in. gray-green mound. It blooms ferociously from early summer until hard frost - one of the longest-blooming perennials there is - and thrives on heat, drought, and poor soil that would defeat fussier plants. The nonstop, nectar-rich flowers are butterfly and bee magnets. Like all blanket flowers it is short-lived (3 to 4 years), but it blooms the first year from seed and often self-sows.

✅ Plant alongside

Good neighbors that attract beneficial insects or deter pests

• Moonbeam Coreopsis — Another long-blooming, drought-tough daisy that shares the lean sunny bed
• May Night Salvia — Blue spikes cool down the hot red-and-gold blanket flowers and feed bees
• Yarrow — Matches the tough, dry, sunny conditions and draws beneficial insects
• Purple Coneflower — Adds height and prairie character while sharing the same care

🛡️ Pest & disease prevention

Proactive ways to stop trouble before it starts — tap a name with an arrow for its full guide

• Aster yellows →

  This incurable disease causes distorted, greenish flowers - remove and destroy affected plants promptly and control the leafhoppers that spread it

• Powdery mildew →

  Give full sun and airflow and avoid overhead watering and rich, damp soil

• Leaf spot →

  Space for air circulation and clear debris; usually cosmetic on a vigorous plant

🌸 Blooms & cutting

Blanket flower is a cheerful, long-lasting cut flower - snip stems with newly opened blooms in the cool morning, and keep cutting and deadheading to drive continuous bloom from early summer to frost. Removing spent flowers is the key to its marathon flowering and keeps the butterfly traffic steady. Leave a few final flowers in fall to set seed, since the plant is short-lived and self-sows to renew itself.

🥗 Nutrition & benefits

Blanket flower is a standout butterfly and bee plant, valued precisely because it blooms nonstop from early summer to frost, offering nectar across the entire warm season when deadheaded. The daisy-form flowers give easy access to butterflies, native bees, and honeybees, and the seed heads, if left in fall, feed goldfinches and other small birds.