I planted some Blanket flowers (Gaillardia 'Goblin') but they never came back?

Question

Granted it was on very steep slope. I watered well first year. The soil was nothing special, and it was full sun, so I figured I would see these beautiful plants come around for many more years.

Year two, and only two (of five originals planted) came back. Year three... sadly none.

I loved these fellas, but can't figure out what went wrong. I sort of recall "goblin" winning some sort of award not too long ago for best plant.

Maybe I under watered them year 2, 3, 4 (although I think we had plenty of natural rain in year 2).

I also checked the web, and sometimes I came across comments like "these are short lived" plants.

I would love to try these guys again. Are their better (long lived) species now? I always fall in love with them at the garden centers when they bloom.

Can I try them next year? How do you suceed with yours?

Answer 1

The only thing I know of that can kill them would be the soil. In heavy clay soil they flower less and are likely to die in the winter.

Answer 2

Yes, they are a short lived perennial. They won the All American Award based on their flower and usefulness in many varied climates. Their ability to return year after year isn't judged as highly.....obviously.

When planting large areas like the hillside, don't put all your hopes into one plant. Select many plants and plant/sow them in drifts. That is concentrated pockets. This shows each plant to it's maximum. You may have to help nature out by harvesting and scattering seed for several years until you get a good rotation started.

Answer 3

* You said that you had a lot of questions, you're living up to your word! *

I have found that Gallardia hasn't done well in the retail nursery lot. I think that water is a big part of the failure rate. In the nursery too much water is usually the culprit, they rot easily. Many other answerer's have suggested letting them go to seed, I agree. They do self-sow easily. In fact, in year one, I might have suggested buying a seed packet and starting it then. It would take a year for those seedlings to come to bloom.

Heavy clay soils hold a lot of water and that leads to the roots rotting (as collegekid said).

I hope that this helps
Good luck-
Keep asking

Answer 4

Gallardia generally come back by self-seeding; this being the case, unless you have a REALLY big area that's planted with gallardia, I suggest re-seeding. You should be able to plant them now, so that they will bloom next spring/summer, depending on your area.

Answer 5

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/wildseed/20/20.5.html

In my experience they are short lived perrenials hence the importance of allowing the seed heads to dry completely in order to aid in reseeding. I would try growing them from seed this year, naturalized flowers usually perform better than one from the nursery.