GAILLARDIA oranges and lemons zone confusion :*(

Hi,
I am thinking about using this plant as a border plant but I have seen it listed as a 3-10 zone or 6-9? What the heck, how on earth is a person suppose to know what to do? I guess that is why I am asking all of you knowledgeable folks :*)

Zone 3-10 listing http://www.waysidegardens.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StoreCatalogDisplay?storeId=10151&catalogId=10151&langId=-1&mainPage=prod2working&ItemId=47526&scChannel=Top%20Ten%20Main
Zone 5-9 listing
http://www.highcountrygardens.com/catalog/product/52346/
Zone 6-9 listing
http://www.whiteflowerfarm.com/29187-product.html

I have them at 5-9 in my mental database.LOL They can reseed themselves so maybe they are counting that for zone 3. I did see if for sale around here.
I loved it, Tokajer and Summer Kiss looked great too, but I wondered how different they were.
Anyway - mine did make it through 1 winter so far. I saved seeds just in case it doesn't. I transplanted all my gaillardia last spring in to this one bed. it was odd - like moving cooked spaghetti.

This message was edited Jan 18, 2007 6:30 AM

I have no problem with it here in 5b so you should be fine.

I have always used them as annuals here and wouldn;t know if they actually would/could come back because the bunnies eat them all up! Yet I stil plant them.... they are so cool loking!

I guess I could try them if I can get a good deal locally. What do you think of using them along a sidewalk? Would Lemons and Oranges be too tall and lanky? I have been looking for something to plant in between my tulips and daffodils, so the plant I choose would have to like sun and could handle being on the dry side and still have good form and foliage :*) Am I dreaming? LoL

Not too tall. Lanky - well they do have a lower growing spreading outwards growing habit. Mine do spread out of that bed a bit and you can see that I just cut them back to the edge. They can handle the dry just fine. I don't have any real good sales for you, later in the summer when all the temporary sellers start wrapping up their season would be best, otherwise 5/6 bucks for a quart is the average price. If you wanted some seeds I could get you some too.

Al do you think they will be quite plentiful around here? Shopping online is sooooo easy but paying $3 a plant for s/h seems so high :*( I was thinking of planting them with http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/65658/index.html. I have never been good with designing colors etc. LOL Have you planted any Leucanthemum? They look so mush like echinacea. Which I think I will add two or three more to my yard if the $ funds hold out.
Would the Oranges and Lemons flower from the seed the first year?

Thank you

Andy,
I can't remember the places I saw them at - I keep getting them confused with Summer Kiss, but Summer Kiss is a Plantspotters plant and O&L isn't. They should be more available since last year was the first full year for sale. You will get small plants online, my O&L came from Wayside as a 2" pot.

Here's all I could find for perennial gaillardia seed info. Sounds like it might not flower from seed in one year.

Click for a
Larger Image Gaillardia Grandiflora Mixed Flower Seed
Stock #: HSF6037 Price: $1.49
Perennial -- Height 2-1/2 Feet
Out of Stock for the Season

One of the brightest and easiest to grow of all the perennial daisies. Single flowered mixture of red, rose, yellow, and bronze. Gaillardia makes excellent cut flowers for your table. Adds a touch of brightness to any room.

SOWING ... Plant Gaillardia seed outdoors in late spring or early summer. Sow seed in rows 24 inches apart and cover seed with 1/8 inch of fine soil, well pressed down.

THINNING ... When Gaillardia plants are 2 to 3 inches high, thin or transplant 12 inches apart in the row.

GERMINATION ... Gaillardia seed germinates in 3 to 4 weeks depending on soil and weather conditions.

REMARKS ... Prefers full sun and sandy soil. Gaillardia will tolerate drought, poor soil and heat. Plants normally need no winter protection, and will bloom next June or July.

Jeez - I have Shasta Daisy, I had some seed into my veggie garden and I don't have a place for them. I'm not the biggest Shasta Daisy fan myself. The flowers do not last at long as coneflowers, although the do rebloom better with deadheading. What color are you trying to combine? white with orange? I would prefer the orange to be the light color and combine it with red/dark red.

Seems a little more involved than what I want to get with seed at the moment, thanks again for the offer. Perhaps if I had more space... As far as colors not really sure, I have been looking for plants that can handle full sun, dryness ( so I don't rot the daffodils and tulips that are inches away) and still flower in a semi compact form. It seems Oranges and Lemons fit some of that, except I keep seeing taller and taller height specs. Plus they look decent. I am not overly excited about using daisies but I have been having a hard time finding plants for my sidewalk. Do you know of any shorter cone flowers?

I went through my list and picked out shorter drier liking plants.


http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/133905/index.html

http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/133797/index.html
Pixie - stayed short, there are some new short ones too.

http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/31509/index.html

http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/81347/index.html

Al the pixie and short helenium look like they would work. I like the bright color of the pixie since it will be in the front of my house. I will have to decide which variety(ies) to get, though Oranges & Lemons and Ech.Pixie seem to have good form. I am not vary good at putting color combos together though :*) What do you think, Yellowish orange next to pink? I could just go with one variety up the sidewalk to fill the spaces I didn't plant tulips etc.
What do you know about new Pixies, are they different colors?

Thanks for your help!

I think we are going with the Pixie Meadowbrite along the sidewalk. Nice and short.

I was happy with it. Fairly common and cheap really - under $10. Schroeder's,Northside,Krueger's
Haven't heard what the Meadowbright people(ChiBot) are up to now, it was their best echie so far.

Al What is Northside and Krueger's? Local garden centers? Trying to figure out where i am going to get my garden stuff from before it is time to plant. :*) Wayside has Pixie Meadowbrite for $24.94, Outrageous!

Don't order that or Oranges & Lemons until you look locally. I know you only live 5 miles from me. Type your zip into the Go Gardening page and it will bring those up and others I and others have entered.

I learned about mail order last year. Went to a nursery just down the road and saw they had some of the same plants
for 60% less :*( The problem is knowing who will carry what, but echinacea seem to be popular...

Thanks for the help,

I play that guessing game and am wrong about half the time. The only line that is slow to here is Terra Nova plants.

Intercessor,
You may want to try the Gailardia Goblin, Arizona sun, or Golden Goblin all about 12" tall. I find Gailardia start easily from seed. The thing to worry about with Gailardia is wet feet in the winter as it freezes them out. otherwise they are great bloomers for long periods.
Have you tried www.bluestoneperennials.com for any plants? They have the ones I mentioned in three packs for about $12.95.
I hope this helps.
Aline

Pixie Meadowbrite is a fantastic plant. I use it a lot in my profession. The best combos I've seen with it are combined with Amsonia 'Blue Ice', Campanula 'Samantha', and Sporobolus 'Tara'. Wait for spring to get your Pixie though. Don't go and waste $25 for it, when you can support your local GC which surely will have it. Gaillardia Oranges & Lemons is a nice plant,(Probably the first time I've said that about a Gaillardia) but the orange and pink together may look a bit gaudy. I like to mix it with blues as I've listed above, and it looks good massed with allium caeruleum too. Good luck.

Is pixie more of a pale pink or a darker pink?

Thanks for the help

Kevin - Do you have a source for the allium? Love the brilliant blue color. I think that would look great with pinks and oranges, maybe bridge the two even.

Al - What is the purple blooming plant to the left of your gaillardias? I lost my Fanfares, I think, would be surprised to see them make it through winter. In case one makes it, have you had much success dividing them?

PG - that is Malva'Zebrinus' - real common, a flowering machine even past a freeze. That was the first year for Fanfare so I can't really speak on it's hardiness yet. I did move some gaillardia last spring and it was really weird, but yes division is possible I would say.

I bought some of the azureum allium last fall from Bulbmeister. This pic is from the Rotary Gardens in Janesville.

That is breathtaking Al. I'm thinking that bulb would look nice with some pink echinacea I have. Originally I had thought I would add echinops, but I like the idea of the allium, less footprint space, and I already have Purple Sensation. The spikes look so good with it, I might add white liatris too. What do you mean the gaillardia was like moving cooked spaghetti? Did it seem like it was falling apart? I really like the malva next to it. I bet Oranges and Lemons would really zing with some other blues as well. Like blue lobelia to edge a bed.

This message was edited Feb 21, 2007 8:53 AM

I really do like the allium for the architectural interest too. I don't really combine colors, but blue really stands out as a color.

Yes the gaillardia didn't seem to have a rootball and just fell apart and I poked holes and kind of shoved it in to them - so technical. The only theory I had was that maybe those were all new seedlings in the old holes?

here's a shot with the malva flowering better.

Kopkes greenhouse down here and the Flower Factory both carry this Lemons and Oranges. Bought it last year and it did wonderfully to color my border all summer (and I do mean ALL SUMMER). I even planted it at the town hall, I loved it so much. $5 or less.