Indian Blanket-flower
Gaillardia pulchella
—
Not native
Not native to Florida. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 71%
- Height
- 1–2 feet
- Spread
- 10–12 inches
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Dry to average
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At a glance
- Life cycle
- Annual or perennial
- Leaves
- Deciduous
- Bloom
- No set bloom season
- Fruiting season
- Summer to fall
Recorded in 54 Florida counties.
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
3CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL
Genus host records with ranges including FL · Gaillardia
- Acronicta lanceolariaNarrow-Winged Dagger, Lanceolate Dagger
- Homoeosoma electellaSunflower Moth
- Schinia binaBina Flower Moth
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
9Specialist beesPollen specialists
Pollen specialists · Gaillardia
- Andrena melliventris
- Diadasia enavata
- Dianthidium curvatum
- Megachile inimica
- Megachile parallela
- Megachile pugnata
- Melissodes tristis
- Perdita coreopsidis
- Protandrena albitarsis
—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claimGrowing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 5a–9b
- Soil pH
- Neutral
- Flower color
- Brown/copper, yellow, orange, purple or red
- Growth rate
- Rapid
- Growth habit
- Single crown
- Foliage color
- Green
- Fruit begins
- Summer
- Fruit ends
- Fall
What its natural habitat tells you
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “No set bloom season” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Flower color · “Brown/copper, yellow, orange, purple or red” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs)
- Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit begins · “Summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit ends · “Fall” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth habit · “Single crown” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth rate · “Rapid” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Hardiness · “Zones 5a–9b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “1–2 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs)
- Leaf retention · “Deciduous” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Life cycle · “Annual or perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil · “Occasionally dry” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil pH · “Neutral” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “10–12 inches” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Common Blanket Flower; Common Blanketflower; Fire Wheel; Firewheel; Indian Blanket; Indian Blanket flower
Conservation status
| Florida rank | SNA |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G4G5 |
| FL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Sources
- Atlas of Florida Plants
- USDA PLANTS
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications