Winter sowing blanket flower, also known as gaillardia, is a really great way to use perennial flowers to build cut flower gardens and landscape plantings. While going to the local garden center and buying perennials is super easy, it can also be ridiculously expensive. Luckily, for those of us whose mommy and daddy don’t own a garden center, we can grow everything from seed – for wicked cheap, too.
I like to consider blanket flower a short lived perennial. While it technically will come back year after year, it seems to fizzle out in my yard after a few seasons. I don’t know if this has to do with my weather, but it’s more likely the fact that I’m always moving and transplanting flowers. Since my yard is so small, most times it is just easier for me to start new seedlings than to worry about not disturbing the plantings.
Either way, winter sowing blanket flower is great for anyone who doesn’t have the room inside or access to grow lights. I usually begin the process of winter sowing blanket flowers in January and into February. By the time spring comes, it is very reliable that I will have some really great looking seedlings that are ready to be moved into the garden. Since these are technically hardy to my zone, I usually transplant these from containers around the same time that I start planting things like rudbeckia – I don’t wait until my last frost date.
