Gaillardia F1 Mesa Red is a compact, upright first-year-flowering blanket flower with deep, consistent non-fading red flowers. The well-branched plants are bred for sunny beds and containers, reaching about 3641 cm high and 5156 cm wide.
Ready to grow your own long-lasting Mesa colour? Follow our step-by-step Gaillardia Grow Guide for sowing, germination, transplanting, regional timing and drought-wise care.
Quick Grow Facts
- Plant Type: First-year-flowering, short-lived perennial blanket flower
- Scientific Name: Gaillardia × grandiflora (breeder parentage also listed as G. aristata × G. pulchella)
- Series and Colour: Mesa F1 Red
- Seed Form: Raw seed
- Pack Sizes: 10 and 100 raw seed; live stock varies
- South African Sowing Time: Spring to summer; start protected trays in late winter for a frost-free head start
- Position: Full sun
- Sow Depth and Light: Cover lightly with fine mix or vermiculite, no deeper than 0.5 cm; light is optional during germination
- Germination Temperature: 2023°C
- Germination: Allow 714 days for home-tray emergence
- Pretreatment: None; do not soak or chill
- Transplanting: Move a sturdy root-held plug after about 57 weeks and harden gradually for 710 days
- Spacing: 5060 cm for mature garden airflow; 40 cm is the compact packet minimum
- Growth Form: Compact, upright and well-branched; no pinching or routine support needed
- Height and Spread: Approximately 3641 cm high and 5156 cm wide
- Water: Even moisture through establishment; drought tolerant only once established
- Flowering: About 1113 weeks after transplant or roughly 1619 weeks from sowing. Can flower 13 weeks earlier than Bright Bicolour and Yellow, depending on season and light.
- Use and Safety: Ornamental beds, containers and occasional short cut stems; do not eat seed
Why Grow This Variety
- Produces a rich red full-sun display on sturdy, compact plants.
- Strong branching supports plenty of early, first-year flowers.
- Very drought tolerant once established, with low water needs after the root system develops.
- Upright plants suit sunny borders, water-wise beds and mixed containers.
Garden Uses
Plant Mesa Red in a sunny border, water-wise bed, pollinator planting or well-drained container. Deadhead back to the next healthy leaf or side shoot for a tidy repeat display. Cut a few fresh open flowers for short arrangements, but treat Mesa as a landscape and container series rather than a professional cut-flower crop.
Growing Notes
- Sow one raw seed per cell in fine, free-draining seedling mix and cover loosely up to 5 mm.
- Keep 2023°C and evenly moist, never saturated, until emergence; give bright light immediately afterwards.
- Keep young plants moist while they establish, then water deeply and less often.
- Use 5060 cm spacing where long-term airflow matters; the printed 40 cm spacing is a compact minimum.
- Avoid rich, wet soil and heavy nitrogen feeding. Good drainage is essential, especially in wet winters and humid regions.
Seed safety: "Raw seed" describes the seed form and does not confirm an untreated lot. Current packet media does not declare treatment status. Never eat seed and keep it away from children and pets.
Brought to you by Ubuntuberg Seeds, where our mission is to cultivate humanity & harvest unity. Ubuntuberg Seeds: the highest quality seed stock in all of Southern Africa, sourced from sustainable farms, guaranteeing you the best quality seed stock.
