Firewheel

Gaillardia pulchella

In other languages: Kokardebloem (Nederlands) · Gaillarde annuelle (Français)

Firewheel is an annual from the prairies and sandy coastal areas of the southern and central United States and northern Mexico. It forms a loose, branching plant 40–50 cm tall with softly hairy, grey-green leaves. From June to October it carries a stream of flower heads about 5 cm across, red with yellow tips around a dark centre, like a rosette or cockade. There are also varieties with all-yellow or all-red flowers, and double forms with tubular petals. It tolerates drought, poor soil and sea wind, and is loved by bees and butterflies. If you deadhead it, it keeps flowering into autumn.

Updated on 9 October 2026

Light
Full sun
warm and bright
Moisture
Dry to normal
no wet feet
Legal basis
Sand or loam
any pH
Hardiness
down to 0 °C
protect in harsh winters
Size
0.5 m
tall, 0.3 m wide
Flowering
June–October

Key facts
Height	0.5 m
Native to Belgium	No, planted
Good for bees, butterflies and birds	Yes, for bees and butterflies
Poisonous to people and pets	Not known to be poisonous
Flowering	June–October

Identify

Firewheel: how do you recognise it?

Habit: Loose, branching plant 40–50 cm high and 30 cm wide, with upright to slightly spreading stems.
Leaves: Oblong to lance-shaped, 4–8 cm, softly hairy and grey-green; the lower leaves are sometimes toothed or lobed.
Flower: Flower heads 4–6 cm across on long stalks. The petals have three teeth at the tip and surround a domed, dark red centre.
Colour: Red with yellow tips, or all yellow, orange or wine red. Double varieties have tubular petals.
Fruit: A round, bristly seed head with hairy seeds, attractive in dried arrangements.

Flowering: June–October · Sowing: March–May · Plants: May

In your garden

Why grow it?

Flowers for five months, from June to October.
Warm colours: red, orange and yellow, often bicoloured with a dark centre.
A real magnet for bees and butterflies.
Tolerates drought, heat, poor sandy soil and sea wind: ideal for a coastal garden or a sunny gravel bed.
A cheerful cut flower for summer bouquets.
After flowering, round seed heads remain that look decorative.

Firewheel: where does it grow best?

Full sun: in shade it becomes floppy and flowers poorly.
Poor to average, free-draining soil: sand or loam, acid to chalky. On rich soil it flops.
Dry to moderately moist; it dislikes heavy, wet ground.
Tolerates wind and sea wind: ideal for coastal and gravel gardens.
Plant 25–30 cm apart.

Light: Sun
Soil type: Sand or loam
Acidity: Not fussy
Moisture: Dry or normal
Size: 0.5 m tall, 0.3 m wide
Hardiness: Frost tender: plant out after the last frost (mid-May)

Goes well with

Rudbeckia: Yellow and brown tones that go perfectly with the red and yellow.
Ornamental grasses: Fine, swaying stems among the colourful flowers, on the same dry soil.
Purpletop vervain: Purple flower heads on tall, airy stems, also a butterfly magnet.
Sunflower: A tall, yellow backdrop for a summery border.
Cornflower: Blue as a contrast with the red and yellow.

Maintenance

Firewheel: when and how to plant it?

Plant in May.

Sow indoors in March–April at 18–20 °C, covering the seed very lightly. It germinates in one to two weeks.
Prick out the seedlings into pots as soon as they can be handled and grow them on somewhere bright and cool.
Alternatively, sow thinly where it is to flower in May and thin later to 25–30 cm.
Plant out in May, after mid-May, at the same depth as in the pot.
Water at planting time; after that only in dry spells.
Do not feed. A gravel mulch keeps the base dry and suppresses weeds.

Care

Watering: Little needed once established: only in prolonged drought and in pots.
Feeding: Not needed in the open ground. In pots, a little liquid feed once a month.
Spent flowers: Deadhead regularly and it will flower until October. At the end, leave a few for seed.
Support: No support needed on a poor site. On richer soil, a few twigs or sturdy neighbours help.
Cutting: Cut the flowers in the morning when just open; they last about a week in the vase.

Tip: Sow indoors in March–April and plant out in May in the sunniest, poorest spot in your garden. Deadhead regularly and it will flower into October.

Firewheel: when to prune it?

When: An annual that is not pruned. Deadheading from July to September is the main job.

How:

Cut off spent flowers with their stalk, down to a leaf or side shoot.
Pinch out the tips of young plants at 15 cm once for a bushier plant.
In September, let a few flowers go to seed if you want to collect it.
Pull up the plant after the first frost and compost it.

Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Seed: Sow indoors in March–April or where it is to flower in May. Collect seed from dry seed heads in September and store it cool and dry; seed from varieties does not always give the same colour.
Self-sowing: In a warm, poor spot it sometimes self-seeds. Leave the seedlings where they are or move them while young.

Firewheel: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy to 0 °C: protect in harsh winters.

Not hardy: it does not tolerate frost and dies in Belgian gardens in autumn.
Grow it as an annual and sow again every spring.
For a blanket flower that stays, choose the perennial Gaillardia ×grandiflora, which survives winter better if the soil stays dry.

Diseases and pests

Powdery mildew: White powder on the leaves in late summer, especially in dry weather and poor air circulation. Space plants well and remove affected leaves.
Aphids: On young shoot tips. Hose them off; natural enemies usually deal with them.
Slugs: They eat young seedlings. Check in the evening and protect young plants.
Flopping: On rich or wet soil the stems become long and floppy. Choose a poor, sunny spot and do not feed.
Root rot: In heavy, wet soil the base rots. Make sure the soil drains freely.

Through the year

March: Sow indoors at 18–20 °C.
April: Sow indoors and prick out seedlings.
May: Plant out after mid-May or sow where it is to flower.
June: First flowers. Pinch out young plants once.
July: Flowering. Deadhead. Cut flowers for the vase.
August: Full flower. Water in prolonged drought.
September: Flowering. Let a few seed heads ripen.
October: Last flowers. Collect seed and clear the plants after the first frost.

Use

Good for wildlife

Bees: Nectar and pollen for honeybees and wild bees.
Butterflies: Nectar for butterflies.

You and this species

Did you know?

Firewheel is the official state wildflower of Oklahoma, where it is called ‘Indian blanket’, after the colours of traditional woven blankets.
The genus is named after Gaillard de Charentonneau, an 18th-century French magistrate and lover of botany.
In the wild it also grows on sandy coastal plains along the Gulf of Mexico, which explains why it copes so well with sea wind.

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