Care-free perennials: blanket flower

This heat-tolerant, drought-resistant blanket flower billows across the ground in a blaze of glorious shades of red, mahogany and yellow. Its beauty is a must-have for any garden.

The colourful effect of this flower is arresting, which explains why this Prairie native is a much-loved flowering garden plant.

• When given a place in the garden, particularly a dry spot where irrigation is inconvenient, blanket flowers grow into lush, bushy plants bearing such a profusion of bright blossoms that they are easily seen from a distance.
• Tremendously tolerant of sultry weather, blanket flowers seem to gain strength from each heat wave that passes and humidity doesn't slow them down at all.

The unaltered red-orange-yellow colour combo is guaranteed to anchor beds devoted to hot colours, but you can try a couple of variations.

• 'Burgundy' bears wine-red flowers without yellow tips, which are as lovely in fresh arrangements as in the garden.
• 'Dazzler' takes the opposite approach, featuring clear contrast between dark maroon centres and a tip of deep yellow on each petal.
• These plants, often sold simply as gaillardia, grow to nearly one metre (three feet) tall and benefit from staking to keep the flowers holding their heads high.
• Feisty little 'Goblin' is very dwarf at only 30 centimetres (one foot) tall. It's a real eye-catcher in containers or tucked into a hot, sunny garden corner.

There's no need to buy more than one bedding plant of blanket flower, as the plant reseeds.

• Two- and three-year-old plants, which have survived at least one winter, are usually the most robust bloomers, but longevity isn't one of this plant's virtues.
• Plants that have passed their third growing season tend to collapse or fail to appear for no apparent reason.
• Fear not -- more seedlings are always there to pick up the torch.
• You can buy bedding plants, or start plants from seeds.
• Start seeds indoors eight weeks before the last spring frost.
• The seeds need light to germinate, so sprinkle them over moistened seed-starting soil, and keep the soil moist and at room temperature until the seedlings produce mature leaves.
• Set them out as soon as they have a set of mature leaves, even if the weather is still chilly.
• Spring-sown plants bloom half-heartedly their first year and much more the second.
• If you cut plants back by one-half after the first flush of flowering, they will produce more flowers later in the season.
• Volunteer seedlings can be dug up and moved in fall or early spring.
• When lifting seedlings, keep as much soil as possible packed around their roots to minimize transplanting trauma.
• Problems don't usually plague blanket flowers, but they occasionally fall victim to the fungal leaf disease powdery mildew, or to viral wilt, especially if grown in moist soil. Remove and dispose of leaves with powdery grey or white deposits, and dispose of any plants that wilt and do not recover when watered.
• Small sap-sucking aphids and thrips occasionally visit. Control them with insecticidal soap, applied early in the day per label directions.

One of the most beautiful and versatile plants you can put in your garden, the blanket flower is a welcome addition to anyone who enjoys bold colours. This is a must-have on your next trip to the nursery!