Getting it to bloom

Why won't my Gaillardia 'Mesa Red' bloom? (and how to make it flower)

Also called Mesa Red blanket flower, red blanket flower (Gaillardia 'Mesa Red').

More about gaillardia 'mesa red'

About Gaillardia 'Mesa Red'

Gaillardia 'Mesa Red' · also called Mesa Red blanket flower, red blanket flower · flowering

Gaillardia 'Mesa Red' is a compact hybrid blanket flower with uniformly deep red to burgundy-red petals and a dark central disc, providing a strong solid-colour contrast to the usual yellow-tipped bicolours. It blooms from late spring to frost and tolerates heat and drought exceptionally well. Gaillardia can cause mild digestive symptoms in pets if consumed.

Plant type: flowering

The reasons gaillardia 'mesa red' isn't blooming

Almost every non-blooming gaillardia 'mesa red' traces back to one of these, roughly in order of how common they are:

Too little sun — most of these need full sun (or very bright light) to flower well; shade gives leaves, not blooms.
Too much nitrogen feed, driving lush foliage at the expense of flowers (very common with general or lawn feeds).
The plant has not been deadheaded, so it stops flowering once it sets seed.
Irregular watering — drought or waterlogging at the budding stage makes buds abort.
It is still too young or was checked by a transplant and is rebuilding before flowering.

Feeding gaillardia 'mesa red' a high-nitrogen general feed and growing it in too little sun — you get a big leafy plant and almost no flowers.

The fix — how to get gaillardia 'mesa red' to flower

Maximise sun. Give gaillardia 'mesa red' the sunniest spot you have — for most bedding and fruiting plants, more direct light directly means more flowers.
Switch the feed. Move off high-nitrogen feeds and use a higher-potassium "bloom" or tomato-type feed as it comes into flower.
Deadhead regularly. Remove spent flowers often to keep it producing more rather than stopping to set seed.
Water consistently. Keep moisture even through budding and flowering — drought-then-flood swings make buds drop.

Light and feeding do most of the heavy lifting here. Dial in the spot with the light guide for gaillardia 'mesa red' and get the feeding right with the gaillardia 'mesa red' fertilising schedule — the wrong feed (too much nitrogen) is one of the most common silent reasons a healthy plant makes leaves instead of flowers.

Bloom season and what to expect

Gaillardia 'Mesa Red' flowers across its growing season (mostly summer) and, kept fed and deadheaded, can bloom for many weeks or right up to frost.

Post-bloom care so it flowers again

Deadhead, keep feeding lightly, and many will rebloom; collect seed from the best plants at the end of the season if you want to grow them again.

For everything else this plant needs day to day, see the full gaillardia 'mesa red' care brief and its watering schedule — a stressed, badly watered plant rarely has the energy to flower at all.

Gaillardia 'Mesa Red' blooming — frequently asked questions

Why won't my gaillardia 'mesa red' flower?

Gaillardia 'Mesa Red' blooms on the season's growth given enough sun, warmth and the right feed — there is no cold or photoperiod trick, just good growing conditions and a bloom-leaning feed. The most common reason it is not happening: Too little sun — most of these need full sun (or very bright light) to flower well; shade gives leaves, not blooms.

How do I make gaillardia 'mesa red' bloom?

Give gaillardia 'mesa red' the sunniest spot you have — for most bedding and fruiting plants, more direct light directly means more flowers. Move off high-nitrogen feeds and use a higher-potassium "bloom" or tomato-type feed as it comes into flower.

When does gaillardia 'mesa red' normally bloom?