Will Burgundy Gaillardia come true from seed?

I was able to collect seeds from a display in front of a shop I know, and the shopowner and I are eager to know.

I've never tried to grow gaillardia from seed at all, so I don't even know how easy that will be!

Gaillardia is easy to start from seed. Some people plant seeds in the fall. Some in the spring. I winter sowed mine three years ago. This photo was taken in June.

Don

Beautiful! What is your soil like? Recommendations say "loose and poor" is best. What does that mean? Sand? We have lots of clay, which I am constantly amending, which is supposed to be worst for gaillardia....

I'm with Don in that gaillarda is easily wintersowed. Mine reseed and grow fine in regular garden soil that has been amended over the years.
As to burgundy gaillarda coming true from seed...It should. I know that some seed companies sell it. Having said that, I can't personally vouch for how well it comes true from seed. I bought it from T&M several years ago. When they finally flowered, they were not burgundy at all. I did find one that appears to be true the second year after they were sowed. It could be that a small percentage of the seed was true. I do know that gaillarda tend to be variable when they are open pollinated in your yard and seed about like rudbeckia.
Hopefully, someone else will have a more informed answer to your question. Perhaps a more reputable seed company would have yielded better results for me.
Bev

I like the idea of winter sowing, but I can never seem to do it.

For one thing, I don't have beds that lay fallow during the winter. I plant zone 8 winter flowers like pansies, violas and snapdragons. This year, I'm going to try sweet stock and sweet peas -- perhaps some others I have in a special bag of seeds that I've discovered won't tolerate our summer heat.

For another, I never remember.

Most seeds that can be winter sown can be grown in warm weather with direct sowing or starting in containers (which I do with unreliable seeds in order to avoid gaps in the garden).

Since it's mid summer here, and our first frost is around Thanksgiving, I'm interested in hearing if anyone has experience with growing gaillardia from seed during warm weather, and if anyone has experience growing burgundy gaillardia from second generation seeds.

@Bev: I'm surprised you had bad results from Thompson & Morgan seeds. I guess I don't know anything of their reputation, but I would have expected better from such a well known & historical company. Thanks for recognizing the question of burgundy gaillardia coming true from seed.

Has anyone else tried this?

Can anyone tell me their experience growing gaillardia from seed in warm weather?

I am surprised that you haven't been successful with wintersowing. It's very easy, and a cheap way to get lots of plants. You might try the 'sticky' threads at the top of the wintersowing forum...so much wonderful info there. Does every type of seed do well with ws? No, but so many do. I use milk jugs and clear 2 liter soda bottles like most ws'ers do and don't direct sow in the winter for the most part...maybe some poppies.

As to T&M...they have been sold and they are not quite the co. they used to be imho.

Gaillardia seeds can be planted at any time of the year down here. The issue down here is that they are strictly annuals and will only bloom for 6-9 months, regardless of when they start blooming. The only one that has a longer blooming period has been "Mesa Yellow". Have been able to squeeze out 12 months of blooms on some of the plants. There is a new red colored seed grown gaillardia named "Arizona Red Shades" that sounds interesting. It should be more readily available next year. I think it's related to "Arizona Sun".

Thanks for letting me know that, amore.

Have you had any problems with growing them? I don't know why I am hesitant to give these a try.

I've had no problems growing any of them from seed. You have to surface sew them as they need light for germination. I start them in little 2" square seed starting pots. Once they germinate you'll have to repot them fairly quickly as the root systems on gaillardia develop extremely fast. The seeds are so light in weight that I prefer to start them in containers. They would be easily blown around/away in the wind. Not sure when would be the ideal time to sew them in your zone. We don't typically have frost/freezes so they can be started at any time of the year. Perhaps winter sewing would be best for you but I'm not completely sure to be honest.