Gaillardia spinous "Arizona sun": description and secrets of cultivation

More and more often, on personal plots, there is a bright and colorful plant, the flowers of which look like huge red, orange, yellow daisies. This is spinous Gaillardia. In our article we will give a description of the Arizona Sun variety and reveal the secrets of its cultivation.

Gaillardia spinous "Arizona Sun" is a short perennial plant that grows only up to 30 cm in height. Her leaves are lanceolate, gray-green, slightly pubescent. On short shoots, beautiful large flowers bloom (up to 9 cm in diameter) of a bright red hue with a yellow border and jagged edges. The middle of the flower rises in a velvety purple-brown hemisphere with a yellow center. Gaillardia pleases with its flowering from the first days of summer to mid-autumn. After flowering, thorny fluffy brown balls with seeds are formed, so the plant is decorative throughout the season.

Let us consider in detail the agrotechnology of growing hybrid Gaillardia "Arizona Sun". This is a completely unpretentious plant. For planting, areas that receive a sufficient amount of sunlight, containing soil of any composition, are suitable. Gaillardia is also undemanding to soil moisture. She has enough precipitation. And only in dry weather it is necessary to water this flower from time to time.

“Arizona Sun” responds very gratefully to feeding. They can be carried out 3 times per season: in early spring, during budding and the beginning of flowering, a month before the onset of the first frost. For this purpose, you can use complex fertilizers for flowering plants in the open field, well-infused mullein diluted with water in a ratio of 1: 10, or chicken droppings (1: 20). The last feeding will be a preparatory stage for wintering.

Gaillardia "Arizona Sun" is propagated in two ways.

Since "Arizona Sun" is a perennial plant, it blooms in the second year after sowing. Therefore, Gaillardia can be sown from July to October. You need to sow seeds on the surface of the earth. Remember to water and weed your plantings regularly. By winter, the sprouted Gaillardia seedlings will have a well-strengthened root system, a sufficient number of leaves will appear. If there is a shelter, young plants overwinter well and next year they will already show themselves in all their glory.

Gaillardia grows well in one place for at least 5 years. After reaching this age, the plant can be propagated by division. To do this, you need to carefully dig out the bush and divide it into several parts with a sharp disinfected tool (knife, shovel). It must be borne in mind that in each part there must be at least three strong and healthy shoots. Next, each part must be planted in pre-prepared watered holes. It is worth compacting the soil and watering again. With this method of propagation, each bush of the "Arizona Sun" will bloom this year.

Gaillardia, unlike many other ornamental flowering plants, is little susceptible to various diseases and pests. The most common diseases are powdery mildew and gray mold. Powdery mildew appears in the form of a light powdery coating on the leaves, this weakens the plant, it loses its decorative effect.

Gray rot, like powdery mildew, develops in a humid environment. Brown spots appear on the leaves and stems, which quickly increase, the shoots of the plant die. If these diseases have already appeared, then they can only be dealt with with the help of fungicides.

Of the pests, Gaillardia is most often affected by aphids. Various insecticides are used to combat this insect. If there are few aphids, then you can wash it off by hand using a wet sponge. Gaillardia "Arizona Sun" with minimal care will delight you with its lush flowering throughout the summer.

Review of Gaillardia "Arizona Sun" in the video.