Walton's Plant Library

Other Names:  Blanketflower, Indian Blanket

Description:

This stunning variety has sunny lemon-yellow daisy-like flowers with copper-golden centers and red rings; prefers moist, rich sites but will adapt to dry sites; deadhead to promote re-blooming; good for naturalizing

Ornamental Features

Mesa Bright Bicolor Blanket Flower has masses of beautiful lemon yellow daisy flowers with coppery-bronze eyes and a red ring at the ends of the stems from early summer to mid fall, which are most effective when planted in groupings. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its tomentose narrow leaves remain green in color throughout the season.

Landscape Attributes

Mesa Bright Bicolor Blanket Flower is a dense herbaceous perennial with a mounded form. Its relatively fine texture sets it apart from other garden plants with less refined foliage.

This plant will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and is best cleaned up in early spring before it resumes active growth for the season. It is a good choice for attracting bees and butterflies to your yard, but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Mesa Bright Bicolor Blanket Flower is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• Rock/Alpine Gardens
• Border Edging
• General Garden Use
• Naturalizing And Woodland Gardens
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Mesa Bright Bicolor Blanket Flower will grow to be about 16 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 22 inches. When grown in masses or used as a bedding plant, individual plants should be spaced approximately 18 inches apart. Its foliage tends to remain dense right to the ground, not requiring facer plants in front. It grows at a fast rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 5 years. As an herbaceous perennial, this plant will usually die back to the crown each winter, and will regrow from the base each spring. Be careful not to disturb the crown in late winter when it may not be readily seen!

This plant should only be grown in full sunlight. It prefers dry to average moisture levels with very well-drained soil, and will often die in standing water. It is considered to be drought-tolerant, and thus makes an ideal choice for a low-water garden or xeriscape application. It is not particular as to soil type or pH, and is able to handle environmental salt. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid. It can be propagated by division; however, as a cultivated variety, be aware that it may be subject to certain restrictions or prohibitions on propagation.

Mesa Bright Bicolor Blanket Flower is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. It is often used as a 'filler' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination, providing a mass of flowers against which the thriller plants stand out. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.