Indian Blanket - Gaillardia pulchella
 (Read 100+ times)
By Harold Sink
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While the official state floral emblem of Oklahoma is the mistletoe, the Indian Blanket is the state’s wildflower. This showy pinkish to orangey flower has a deep almost maroon and yellow center while the edge, or tips, of the petals are yellow-orange to yellow in color.
This wildflower is not only native to Oklahoma, but to Texas as well. Texas would probably declare this as their second state flower outside of all the variety of bluebonnets.
Growing as much at two feet tall, the Indian Blanket starts off with scraggly hugging the ground almost similar to that of the dandelion.
Once this plant gets to grow, its leaves and stem change. The leaves become narrow and medium in length, and the stalk is kind of spindly. Grown well close together, many roadsides in both Oklahoma and Texas display this showy flower to motorists.
This is another sturdy flower for Oklahoman’s or gardeners in most of the United States. Indian blanket will stand up to long periods of drought and the hottest summers. It is best grown in full sun and can grow almost all year round in areas where freezing temperatures are rare.
Well-drained soil is best for this blanketing flower. Although it can adapt to nearly any soil condition. The more common variety of this plant is more red than orange with the tips of the petals a brilliant yellow.
The arrangement of the petals may confuse a beginner gardener to thinking it is some sort of daisy. This is not at all a misconception as the Indian Blanket belongs to the same botanical family.
Deadheading this particular flower will have the same results as deadheading chrysanthemums. The plant will then put on new growth and bloom more. These flowers look great in hanging baskets or as a border to an evergreen garden.
From my experience, Indian Blanket does not transplant well from the wild into a cultivated environment. One of the best ways to propagate this flower is to obtain the seed from the flower heads similar to that of the marigolds and sunflowers.
About the only time not to plant these seeds is from mid January to early March. These months are considered freeze zone times. Late spring or fall are the best times to plant, and alternate planting will result in flowers all year long.
Space seedlings 12” to 16” apart from one another for a more open garden appearance. You may have been told to broadcast this seed and that of the bluebonnet, but that if a farce. These seeds need to be secured in place by patting the soil after being planted no more than 3/8” deep into the soil.
When these flowers are established in your garden, you will not need to re-seed, as they will disperse their own seed well enough for continued growing seasons. Loose or sandy soil is a favorite for this heat lover.
Again, Indian Blanket can be easily over watered. I keep forgetting this about Mexican Sage, too. Watering these two plants too often can kill them. This is strictly a full sun plant, so any attempts to grow them in partial sunny areas may not do so well.
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Author Bio Box: Harold Sink
 http://www.enchantedlearning.com/usa/states/oklahoma/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ox-eye_daisy
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