Does anyone know what is going on with this Gaillardia bud? I have looked online and can't identify what is causing the growth of leaves inside the bud. The other new bud that flowered on the plant was beautiful and big, nothing unusual at all. There are black ants around the plant. I don't use any pesticides. Sure would appreciate any info that can be offered!
Thanks,
Bonnie
OK, that's weird. I wonder if it will make another flower in the leaves in the flower? I can't explain it, but thanks for sharing. A vegetative hiccough?
Haha! Maybe a flower sneeze at human dander?
OK, I actually looked it up. This is a flower mutation, but your picture is a little different from the other images I found. A real botanist might be able to explain it better, and might like to use your picture. From what I understand, there is some tiny injury to the developing flower, changing the way it grows. What look like leaves in the middle are actually more sepals--the green parts on the outside of the flower head--that are growing where the normal center-of-the-flower parts should be. Can you add a picture of a normal flower from the same plant? Amazing how much info is available online, thanks for getting me started learning about something new to me.
A flower mutation. I see. I did not know how to word my research terms so I was not coming up with anything similar. Now that I tried your terms I did find a flower with the exact same growth in the middle of the bud on Google images. It was called 'fasciation', and is considered common. I will wait to see if I get anymore of that anywhere in my garden. If that is what it is, the advice is to cut away the stem and the plant should return to normal within one year. No need to destroy the plant. I sure hope not. Two things I struggle with and have to practically force myself to do is destroy a plant, for the good of the garden, or thin out seedlings. Poor little things, wrong place, wrong time is their only crime!
Thank you, so much, Nopala. I will post if anything strange continues. I truly appreciate the help.
Personally, I think I would just leave it and not cut it off until it dies back. It's not going to spread to other plants, and is interesting enough to earn a place in the garden. I tend to not destroy very much that manages to grow in my yard, just the really nasty invasives. I even leave some of the thistles-- birds and butterflies love them, and they give some of the more desirable plants a chance to get started underneath them. Can't say the neighbors like them much, but I'm not sure if that's a positive or negative for me!
I agree, it is not causing a problem and is not contagious, so enjoy the oddity as it progresses!
Nice picture!
Susie
Now on to a related question--how do you get such lovely gaillardia growing and blooming in August? Did you start them from seed? When did you plant? Sun or shade? How much water? You know...all the usual questions! I've actually seen them growing wild along the road in the Spring, but haven't had any luck getting them started in my yard. What's the secret??
Oh, thank you both! I started them from seed in January, indoors under lights for six weeks, hardened them off for two weeks very slowly, and planted them out in mid-March. They first bloomed in June. They are in about eight hours of sun in the summer. I water with a one gallon dripper per plant every other day for 99 minutes when temps go above 100. When temps go below 100 I water once every three days and when it cools down to below 75 or so, I water once every one to two weeks, depending on how the foliage looks. I don't fertilize, but I try to side-dress with about an inch of compost (store-bought) at least once a year. Almost all of this is advice from this website's various forums. No secrets! Just like you've been so helpful in helping me figure this weird problem out. It sounds like a lot of water, I know. I could not water like this when the kids were living at home, and it makes a huge difference. Without the endless teen-age showers going on, I claimed the water for my plants. AND it still doesn't use or cost as much. Hah!
All your hard work is paying off! Are they in a "real" flower bed or native dirt? I have heard people talk about this over-watering thing, but haven't seen it happen in Arizona, especially in August.
They are in native dirt. All they get is a little compost side-dressing. They get floppy if I use fertilizer, most of the time. Shhhhh, don't tell them they aren't in a real bed! What they don't know...
Hi GimmeShade, some of us desert dwellers actually prefer native dirt. It goes better with the prickly neighbors and scaly visitors, plus so lightly coats the furniture both indoors and out. Besides it's very versatile, equally at home underfoot or flying freely through the air. Now if only I could get some of those flowers to grow in it!
