Colorful Gaillardia - a chic garden decoration
When the question arises of choosing garden flowers for a summer cottage, it seems that they are all beautiful in their own way. But among this multitude of living decorations, the colorful Gaillardia is especially impressive. This extraordinary flower has chic large buds of rich and bright colors. Looking at them, the image of Cinderella is born in my thoughts, who was going to go to the ball and put on an exquisite dress. It is like a simple daisy turned into a colorful Gaillardia.
Gaillardia is a chic decoration of the landscaping of the backyard area. It is planted in mixed flower beds and flower beds. It is an integral part of alpine slides and low curbs. Against the background of flowering shrubs, the plant looks simply irresistible. And in tandem with daisies, Gaillardia causes an unprecedented delight, because it looks like an elegant princess at a flower ball.
Botanical characteristics
This garden flower grows up to 70 cm tall and forms a luxurious bush of bright buds. Each of them resembles a colorful basket, in the center of which a miniature sun shines. Inflorescences are kept on flexible but long peduncles. Branched shoots, slightly pubescent, covered with many alternate leaves. They are lanceolate or oval in shape. The edges are serrated, which emphasizes the originality of the flower. At the base of the bush, there is a small rosette resembling a green veil, which gives the plant a chic look.
Large and unusually pretty Gaillardia flowers are distinguished by their rich and bright color. The central part of them comes in different colors, but the edging is always yellow. The buds begin to bloom with the onset of summer and continue to delight their fans until the first frost. Interestingly, the inflorescences consist of reed and tubular petals, which have different colors. Extreme (reed) petals are:
- yellow;
- scarlet;
- orange;
- burgundy.
Those that are centered (tubular) are usually:
- dark brown:
- purple;
- light brown.
The middle of the buds is velvety, with a relief character, which, in combination with the petals, looks especially attractive. The original baskets of the plant can be double or semi-double. In double varieties, the middle funnel-shaped flowers are especially developed. Semi-double specimens have 2 or 3 rows of reed petals that look gorgeous against the background of the greenery of the plant. In the photo provided, Gaillardia looks like a real queen on her backyard.
The flower is grown not only in the personal plot, but also on the balcony or as a houseplant.
When the process of lush flowering ends, a seed ball remains on a high peduncle. It is slightly spiny to the touch and looks like a miniature brown hedgehog. Often, such fluffy decorative cones are used when forming compositions from dry plants.
In order for the plant to always look gorgeous on the garden area, wilted inflorescences should be plucked regularly.
Growing secrets
To grow a colorful flower in a home flower bed, it should be borne in mind that this plant is of two main types: annual and perennial. Annual Gaillardia can be cultivated by sowing seeds and growing seedlings. At the end of February or at the beginning of March, large seeds are spread on the prepared moist soil. Then they are carefully sprinkled with a small amount of vermiculite. It is a natural substrate that is able to effectively control moisture at the soil surface. Thanks to him, the plant takes root faster in a new place.
It is advisable to keep containers with crops in a well-lit room at an optimal temperature not higher than 23 degrees. The greens will appear after 10 or 15 days. If you know how to grow Gaillardia from seed and when to plant it outdoors, there will always be room in the garden for such a cute "princess". Therefore, when growing seedlings in an enclosed space, the following factors should be taken into account:
- the room must have a high level of humidity;
- when the first shoots appear on a flower, they must be planted in separate pots or cells;
- the soil should be watered as it dries;
- to increase daylight hours, use additional lighting with fluorescent lamps.
Since the annual Gaillardia is a plant for open ground, the hardened seedlings are planted in September or even in mid-August. To do this, choose a sunny place in the garden, where there is good fertile soil. In addition, it must have good drainage, because the plant does not like stagnation of liquid in the area of the root system. The distance between the seedlings is 25 cm. The plant will bloom next year.
When preparing the soil for planting seedlings, fertilizer is applied to it. A 10 liter bucket of compost or high-quality humus is poured onto 1 m² of the plot. Having carefully dug up the soil, add 1 glass of wood ash and a handful of ready-made mineral fertilizers.
Perennial Gaillardia is planted in the fall, when it is a warm and sunny day. You can also sow seeds back in July by scattering them over the plowed area. It is not necessary to cover the soil, the main thing is to water it regularly as it dries. Before the onset of winter, the seedlings will sprout, forming a basal green rosette of 15 leaf plates. In addition, they will have time to take root well, and the plant will bloom next year. Thus, perennial Gaillardia can grow in one area without transplanting for more than 5 years.
So that the plant can delight its fans for a long time, proper care is important. First of all, it is desirable for the motley beauty to provide enough light. Therefore, it is better not to plant the flower under branchy trees, spreading bushes or in the shaded part of the summer cottage.
It is better to water the colorful "chamomile" as the soil dries up. In extreme summer heat - more often, in the rainy season - as needed. Competent planting of perennial Gaillardia and caring for the plant means regular loosening of the soil and weeding from weeds. Once the buds have wither, they should be removed from the bush to extend the flowering period. Tall types of Gaillardia must be tied up. In addition, throughout the season it is important to feed it:
- during the ejection of buds;
- lush flowering;
- in late autumn 30 days before the winter cold.
If the bush has been growing in one area for more than 5 years, it needs to be transplanted. To do this, you should dig up a curtain of Gaillardia, divide it into parts, and then plant it in a new flower bed. It is better to do the procedure in spring, the main thing is that there are enough roots and young shoots on the cuttings
It is strictly prohibited to use manure for fertilizing Gaillardia. From it, the plant is sick and may die.
Variety of varieties of the kingdom "Gaillardia"
The flower received its exotic name in memory of the French activist Gaillard de Charentonneau.Like this person, the plant endures dry times, cold winters and always luxuriantly decorates garden beds. If the flower grows in areas where winters are warm, additional shelter is not required. And you can sow seeds after the snow has melted from the ground. Due to its unpretentiousness, the plant has received universal recognition. Therefore, more than 20 different types of cute garden decoration have been bred. After carefully examining the photo of Gaillardia flowers, you can lift the curtain of bright decoration of unsurpassed plants.
Gaillardia "Beautiful"
A wild-growing beauty of this species is found in Mexico and can often turn into a sprawling flowering bush up to 50 cm in diameter. It blooms magnificently throughout the summer with large buds, which are rainbow baskets. Each has a yellow center and purple reed petals.
After the beautiful Gaillardia blooms on the shoots, fruits are formed that resemble rounded balls with a tuft. The seeds retain their germination for a long time, so the plant was used for breeding new varieties. They differ in the structure of the bud and the coloring of the petals. In ornamental gardening, the following plant options are especially appreciated:
- "Picta". Translated into Russian, this word means "painted". Therefore, the flowers of this variety are most often two-colored and always double.
- "Lorenz". The plant is distinguished by globular buds, which are formed by tubular petals. Gaillardia Lorenza amazes its fans with bright yellow flowers that appear on the bush in early summer.
- "Lorenziana". I especially want to mention the charming variety with double buds. They are located on tall peduncle shoots (about half a meter) and resemble shaggy pom-poms. Graceful, scalloped reed petals unfold like bright morning stars. Gaillardia Lorenziana blooms magnificently in the middle of summer and pleases with its beauty until the November cold weather.
Unique types of beautiful Gaillardia are used to decorate country landscapes. They are also suitable for forming cut flower bouquets.
Gaillardia "Arizona Sun"
This variety is considered one of the most demanded flowers for summer cottages. Its main feature is that it blooms in the very year it is sown. In addition, Gaillardia Arizona San throws out buds before all other species of this flower. Lush flowering continues throughout the season until the onset of cold weather.
The plant grows only up to 25 cm in height, therefore it is considered a dwarf species. The inflorescences in the form of baskets are kept on strong peduncles. The diameter of the bud of Gaillardia Arizona reaches 9 cm during flowering, which turns the garden flower bed into a bright bouquet of sunny flowers.
Gaillardia Arizona Red Shades
When grown correctly, the plant forms a small compact shrub up to 30 cm high. Some variants can reach 70 cm. The buds bloom on tall pedicels, 6 or 8 pieces per plant. They come out of a ground outlet, drawing everyone's attention. Gaillardia Arizona Red Shades feels great in open areas where there is a lot of sunlight. It blooms almost all summer, until the first autumn frosts. It does not lose its properties for a long time, being in a decorative vase after cutting. They use the flower to decorate the backyard landscapes of country houses.
Gaillardia "Spinous"
A plant from this series is distinguished by the presence of dense shoots with dense villi along the entire length. They grow up to a maximum of 75 cm, so they require a garter. The leaf plates of the spinous Gaillardia have three different shapes:
- oval;
- oblong;
- lanceolate.
The edges of its foliage are jagged or solid. The back side with delicate fibers resembling white cobwebs. Wide inflorescences consist of variegated flowers of copper, yellow or orange.Sometimes they come in two or three colors. In the center of the bud of large-flowered Gaillardia (as it is sometimes called) is a rounded disc of purple or brown color.
It begins to bloom magnificently in June, continuing to delight fans until the onset of autumn. It tolerates winter well, does not need additional shelter.
Gaillardia "Burgundy"
An exquisite bright perennial - Gaillardia burgundy is often used to decorate borders or mixborders (complex multi-tiered flower beds). The plant is quite tall (about 70 cm). The shoots emerge from the ground rosette, decorated with wide buds in the form of decorative baskets. Often, the inflorescences are wine-red saturated. The variety belongs to the decorative variants of hybrid Gaillardia and is in demand among gardeners.
So that the bushes do not lose their attractiveness, they need supports. They can be neatly installed near the flower bed and tied up with green ropes.
Perennial and annual colorful "daisies" look harmoniously in any version of garden beds. Therefore, they are widely used in landscape design for country houses. Those who grow this wonderful flower always find joy during its lush bloom.