Gaillardia grandiflora Fanfare

Gaillardia grandiflora 'Fanfare' is a stocky, compact gaillardia, extraordinary in its strangeness and generosity. This gaillardia offers an exceptionally long flowering period and blooms that are as original as they are vibrant, with petals shaped like small red tubes that end in yellow-orange trumpets. This perennial, with continuous flowering, is not long-lived but it is extremely undemanding, hardy, and drought-resistant. It should be planted in sunny, rocky or sandy dry soil, on paving, in a scree garden, rockery, or in a large pot on the terrace.

Gaillardia (x) grandiflora 'Fanfare' is a spontaneous mutation that appeared in England in 1997.  This variety is the result of cross-breeding between Gaillardia aristata, a perennial native to the great central plains of North America, and Gaillardia pulchella, an almost annual plant native to northern Mexico and the southern and central United States. Belonging, like its two parents (and like the sunflower) to the large family of Asteraceae, this hybrid has inherited from its first parent excellent hardiness and increased longevity, and from the second parent its extraordinary floriferousness, rapid growth, and extremely undemanding nature. 'Fanfare' quickly forms a compact clump 30-40 cm (12-16in) tall and spreads 40-50 cm (16-20in) wide. From mid-June to mid-October, it is covered in large capitula measuring 7-8 cm (3in) wide, where pollinators gather. They are tricoloured, with particularly vibrant and shiny shades of red, orange, and yellow for a gaillardia. The entire flower is animated by a red-orange heart. The foliage, mainly basal, consists of narrow, slightly lobed or deeply cut, dark green and downy leaves. Even when faded, the flowers of this variety have a unique charm, somewhat resembling echinaceas.

Somewhat outdated today, Gaillardias, along with Coreopsis grandiflora and Gauras, are among the champions of abundant flowering. Even the wild form Gaillardia aristata proves to be very floriferous. Their only flaw is that they do not tolerate ambient humidity well, even in well-drained soil. In gardens in hotter southern regions, especially in poor soils, this plant is truly a blessing: it will accompany lavenders, rosemary, cotton lavenders, rockroses, blood-red perennial geraniums, as well as artemisias and grasses like Stipa, which are equally undemanding and floriferous plants.