Gaillardia 'Arizona Sun'

All-America Selections (AAS) Winner 2005

Fleuroselect Gold Medal winner 2005

This is such an exciting breeding breakthrough for the blanket flower family that I hardly know where to begin explaining it. Until now, blanket flowers have needed a "vernalization" period to flower—that is, they had to go through winter temperatures in order to begin the flowering process. Well, Gaillardia 'Arizona Sun' NEEDS NO VERNALIZATION. What this means for us as gardeners is that this plant blooms much, much earlier than other varieties (up to a month), flowers very heavily even the first year, and sets masses and masses of blooms. As "side benefits," it's also uniform in size and leaf structure. You just won't believe the flower power of Gaillardia 'Arizona Sun' until you see it blooming—and blooming, and blooming—in your garden.

The flowers are large, many-petaled, and lovely. Expect them to reach 4 inches wide and to crowd one another for space on compact plants 12 inches high and 10 to 14 inches wide. Gaillardia 'Arizona Sun' begins blooming with the first warm weather—typically in late spring or early summer—and won't quit until nipped by fall frost. No wonder Gaillardia 'Arizona Sun' has received top honors on both sides of the Atlantic.

The plant size is uniform, too, which is great for large plantings. And if you've grown other blanket flowers, you'll be impressed by the way 'Arizona Sun's foliage looks identical from plant to plant. One of the odd things about blanket flowers is that the leaf shape sometimes varies greatly, so that when a large planting is out of bloom, it looks as though it's got 5 or 6 different species instead of just one variety. 'Arizona Sun' looks identical from plant to plant, making it suitable even for formal plantings.

Hardy from one end of the country to the other (zones 3-10), this native perennial is happy in any sun-soaked spot. It puts up with heat, humidity, cold, poor soil, and—once it has built up a good root system in your garden—drought. The flowers are lovely for cutting, too.

Cannot ship to GU, VI