A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The Plants and Flowers Forum which Gaillardia?

Last year I planted a gaillardia Arizona Sun on each side of the waterfall. I also planted gaillardia Oranges and Lemons on each side of the pond gardens last year. This year I have a couple of baby plants that have taken this long to finally flower!

So now I'd like to know what I have here? My original Arizona Suns came back this year - they are the same 8 inches high or so that they were last year. BUT... the baby plants have very long stems - about 2 feet tall like the O&R's, but the blooms look just like Arizona Sun? HUH?

Arizona Sun that returned - 8-10 inches high at most


baby gaillardia plant - about 2 feet tall - the flowers on the bottom have fallen over in the rainstorms


Close up of baby bloom

very pretty---could the AS & teh O&L crossed???

Lynne: here is a photo of my Gaillardia that was bought as a yellow goblin, had a second blooming of burgundy flowers and this year looks like this----so what do you think??

Looks like Arizona sun to me :wink:

Carol - I think that both yours and mine look like Arizona Sun. I just don't understand why my babies have such long stems - I guess they could have gotten them from crossing with O&L.

The Bijou and the goblin I see also look like the AS but they too have short stems---I think possibly there has been some crossing going on to reach the variety we both bought--- and then they have reverted back???

The second year for Mine grew tall as well,, the third year as I have experienced are tall also but also the last year for them. Everytime I've gotten arizona sun's they grow three years then I have to buy more to replace them, So it must be their life span?
This coming spring I'll have to replace mine.

Several of the gaillardia cultivars are a result of crosses that don't come true from seed...they revert back to the parent plant.

I just came back from a visit to my favorite nursery. The master gardener there (Todd) and I spoke of out gaillardias. I asked him about my problems a while back.
So when he was at the Botanical gardens in St Louis (His nursery provides flowers for their "pin cushion" gardens), he spoke to one of the people working there. It seems that there are 2 possible reason for our Arizona sun look alikes.

1) Cross pollination. he says that even when they are as much as 20 feet apart that can happen.
2) (Just like Alan said) Gaillardias tend to do just fine the first year but that in subsequent years they tend to revert back to the original-(parent)- plant.

They sure are pretty though aren't they????

Below is a picture of my Yellow goblin Gaillardia-Turned Burgundy- turned "this" .

The small red one at the left is a Burgundy gaillardia--that is supposed to have grown to the height of the one next to it.

Sorry the pic is not better but I took it this morning in the
mist"

That is such a pretty picture, Carol! Thanks for sharing it, and for explaining what the guy at the nursery said. I guess I will see what next year brings with any of these gaillardias! Boy they are getting confusing, huh?

ah yes--I guess it will be like a guessing game---or a wait & see for us huh???--well, at lesat it will give us soemthing to look forweard to & wander about....

and thank you for your kind comments--- .

Well, Lynne, I thought I would not get to "see" what this year would bring, as I did not see any O & L Gaillardias come up. But now I think I have 2--so I think I will move them closer together & see what happens.

how are yours coming along?? or is it too early there for you to know???

Even mine are coming up already ..poor things, frost is gonna destroy them soon.

I have 4 Arizona Suns coming up from the original 2 that I planted and not a single Oranges and Lemons returned this year, just like last year! So I am finished with those for sure. Too bad, as I really liked the coloring on them.

[quote=plants 'n pots]I have 4 Arizona Suns coming up from the original 2 that I planted and not a single Oranges and Lemons returned this year, just like last year! So I am finished with those for sure.

I have 1 arizona sun comong up this year--but I had to buy it new klast year. the first one I had planted did not come back last year-

why not go ahead & just buy 1 plant of the O & L & treat it, mentally, as an annual?? that way you do not lose so much if they do not come back, but yo uwill still get teh beauty that you so enjoy.---
I will say that mine are about 3-4 weeks behind the other perennials. I will hope they will show up yet. perhaps it has to do with the depth that they are planted.

even my coneflowers are at different stages.
my well established purple ones (val's) are only about 3 inches high while the ones you sent me last year, and the plants I bought last year are very large--at least 10 inches so far.

so let us hang in there

Below is a few pictures of what I think are my Oranges & Lemon Gaillardia--well unless the one is a Burgundy.

They are so small I cannot be sure yet---does anyone want to venture an early guess??....Now I must say, they look more like Gaillardias in real life than they do here in the photos.