Gaillardia 'Fanfare' question

Wondering if anyone here has had experience growing Gaillardia 'Fanfare'? Three or four years ago I grew it, but like all my other Gaillardia's it died out after the first bloom year. 'Fanfare' plants are way too expensive for that, so I've never replaced any even though I loved the flowers. And I did harvest most of the seeds thinking that some day I would sow them and see what happened.

I'm kind of confused because I started growing 'Goblin' and it like most, acts like a re-seeding biennial. But this year I got a seedling looking a lot like 'Fanfare'. Now I forget what I've done. I'm not sure if this seedling has come from 'Goblin' (since I just let it/them reseed on its/there own), or if I sowed the seeds I had saved from 'Fanfare' in that spot or same area. So I guess my actual question would be has anyone sown seeds from their 'Fanfare' plants and did they come true or has anyone had seedlings from their 'Goblin' plants look like this?

I'm guessing it's a seed from "Fanfare" that has grown to be very similar to the original plant. "Fanfare" isn't true to seed, but that doesn't mean you can't get something quite close to the original plant. I would doubt it's a "Goblin" seedling since "Goblin" comes true to seed.

All the Gaillardia's are annuals in South Florida, but can re-seed themselves. I think they're all considered short lived annuals in Northern climates. I've grown many of the varieties and "Fanfare" is not a strong variety down here. It doesn't flower as long as most varieties and usually can't make it through our tropical summers. "Goblin" and "Mesa Yellow" have been the best performers for me. They flower for the longest periods of time and don't mind the tropical summer heat.

I've found a lot of variation with Gaillardia seedlings. I've grown Goblin for years and every plant is different. Last year I grew a bunch of 'Burgundy' and two of the plants were yellow and tube like petals (like fanfare). I think it is possible that it is a 'Goblin' seedling.

Thanks both for posting! I've only grown Goblin for I think two or three years, and until this year, all seedlings were alike, which this year would actually only have been the second year of self-sown plants. I've grown 'Burgundy' for I think at least five years, and they also have been like, with no variation. So my 'Burgundy' has been pretty stable. And so that is interesting about your 'Burgundy' plants. Of course, I believe they all can cross pollinate fairly easy, but I do grow my two different varieties in different locations about 100' apart. I'm putting those seed heads from the tubular petaled plants back in the ground in the same spot, so I guess I'll see what I get next year. And perhaps over the winter when I'm not so busy, if I happen to find that bag of 'Fanfare' seeds, I'll know I didn't sow them.

Last year was my first year for gaillardias. I bought Arizona Sun and Fanfare on Lowe's clearance shelf, and both came back this year, along with a red gaillardia that I don't remember planting, but I guess I must have, or started from seed. They seem to be hardy perennials for me.

They are very hardy, but in wetter climates they tend to be shorter lived so if people have trouble with them not coming back, that's probably why. Having good drainage will help to keep them coming back more reliably. I don't know if that would be enough help in the Florida humidity, but in the cooler parts of the eastern half of the country that would certainly help.

I think they run out of energy down here. They continually bloom and there is no winter dormancy and/or rest period for them. They grow and bloom well for 6-9 months, regardless of when the seeds are started and then become spindly with very little foliage.

Nice to see a gaillardia discussion. I bought three Arizona Sun last spring, wanting a low bush of each, but one got 2.5 feet tall! Flower is identical to shorter AS plants though.

Perhaps it's a seedling that grew from one of the three original plants you had. I'm currently growing "Arizona Red Shades" (new variety for 2010/11) and "Torchlight". Hoping they will produce nice plants. I'm thinking "Arizona Red Shades" will probably be the better performing one of the two.

I planted some seeds from a friend's Oranges and Lemons and I ended up with one plant that looked like the species Blanket Flower and one that looked like Fanfare. The is the third summer for both plants. The species-looking one lives next door with my neighbor and I will be keeping the Fanfare lookalike.

I also have Arizona Sun and absolutely love it. I received it in a trade in the fall of '08. When it didn't break dormancy until late this spring, I was worried that I had lost it, and I hadn't saved any seeds. But it did eventually start up again and it's still in full bloom. This year, I received Goblin in a trade, and it is also a blooming machine. Both Arizona Sun and Goblin are terrific front of the border plants.

I just received two Arizona Red plants from a local friend and they are very cute as well. Again, another great plant that I can use in the front of the border.

Linda

"Arizona Sun", "Fanfare" and "Goblin" are front of the border plants in the front yard flowerbed down here. Also had "Sunburst Burgundy Silk" and "Mesa Yellow" planted together last winter. That combination of a solid red and a solid yellow gaillardia planted together was a nice combination.