The Goblin Blanket Flower, otherwise known as the Gaillardia X Grandiflora ‘Goblin’ or Cape Jasmine ‘Aimee’, Aimee Cape Jasmine, Cape Jessamine ‘Aimee’, Gardenia jasminoides ‘First Love’, is a rather well known shrub plant by gardening enthusiasts around the world.
Best known for its high maintenance and moderate growth, this shrub will likely liven up your house (or garden) with its gray-green colored leaves. But, only if you learn how to take proper care of it for it to thrive.
This is why all the topics you need to know in order to achieve this will be covered in this Goblin Blanket Flower Care Guide. Ready? Let’s go!
The fundamental caring guidelines for every Goblin Blanket Flower can be summed up into the following:
- Water: The Goblin Blanket Flower needs at least weekly watering, or more in extreme heat, preferably with regular water.
- Light: Keep your Gaillardia X Grandiflora ‘Goblin’ in an environment where it can receive full sun on a daily basis.
- Soil: Make sure to keep the Goblin Blanket Flower in soil with moist but well-draining properties, so ideally, one that is made of sand, loam, and clay.
That’s it – sunlight, water and soil! The basic 3 fundamentals for all plant care, and with the Goblin Blanket Flower this is no exception. With these three elements, your leafy friend will live healthy and happy.
Scientific / Botanical Aspects
In botanical terms, the Goblin Blanket Flower belongs to the Rubiaceae family, the genus Gardenia and the species Jasminoides, hence its scientific (or botanical) name Gaillardia X Grandiflora ‘Goblin’ (gay-LAR-dee-uh gran-dih-FLOR-uh).
As with other Gardenia’s, the Goblin Blanket Flower is a herbaceous plant, which means it will die back to the ground every year.
Growing Region
The Goblin Blanket Flower is a plant native to the Taiwan. Japan, Southern China and and Vietnam.
You might be wondering why your Goblin Blanket Flower’s native region is important. Well, if you know where your plant originally came from, you’ll know which environment conditions it prefers, and with it, knowledge on how to replicate it at home.
With this in mind, the Gaillardia X Grandiflora ‘Goblin’ will be most used to the heat zones in the 7 – 12 region, as the plant hardiness level falls between 7b, 8b, 8a, 9b, 9a, 10a, 10b, 11a, 11b and the ideal climate zone is between 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, H1, H2.
Growth and Size
Growth
In terms of size and growth, the Goblin Blanket Flower is a relatively moderate grower, which makes things somewhat easy for any plant enthusiast.
Size
But, how big does the Goblin Blanket Flower actually get? What should you expect in terms of size? Let’s dive right in…
The Gaillardia X Grandiflora ‘Goblin’ can grow up to 4′ – 6′ (120cm – 180cm) in 4′ – 6′ (120cm – 180cm) and 4′ – 6′ (120cm – 180cm) in 4′ – 6′ (120cm – 180cm).
These dimensions make the Goblin Blanket Flower a relatively large shrub compared to others, so it’s best to keep this fact in mind since it will affect where you want to keep yours at home.
This is why experts recommend keeping an area of approximately 72″ (180cm) free so the Goblin Blanket Flower can spread to its best extent.
Water
In terms of watering, the Goblin Blanket Flower is a fairly simple plant to take care of.
This is mostly because it has a straightforward watering schedule and somewhat regular watering needs.
Specifically, most experts agree that the Gaillardia X Grandiflora ‘Goblin’ needs at least weekly watering, or more in extreme heat, preferably with regular water.
Which is why it is considered a plant with relatively average needs in terms of water.
Watering
As a rule of thumb, you should remember to keep your Goblin Blanket Flower in soil with moist but well-draining characteristics, as these will guarantee the right conditions for your plant to grow and thrive.
When you consider this, this is why you should aim to choose soil that has good drainage, moist, occasionally dry, and occasionally wet properties to keep the right moisture levels at all times.
But, if you want a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution to watering your Goblin Blanket Flower then you should consider the famous ‘finger’ test. To perform this test, you just need to put your finger in your plant’s soil and determine if it’s moist or not. If it is, then don’t water; if it isn’t, then please do. In any case, this test will allow you to know if your Goblin Blanket Flower needs or does not need water, every time.
Soil Mix
As mentioned earlier, the Goblin Blanket Flower prefers to have soil with good drainage, moist, occasionally dry, and occasionally wet properties at all times, reason why you need to make the soil mix out of sand, loam, and clay.
This is why most experts agree that the Goblin Blanket Flower requires soil with clay, high organic matter, loam (silt), and sand, which will give you the right conditions it needs.
In addition to this, expert gardeners recommend having preferably neutral to acid soil.
Light and Exposure
In terms of light & exposure, the Goblin Blanket Flower requires full sun in order for it to thrive under the right conditions.
Most experts agree that this shrub will do well as long as you keep it in partial to full sun, and it will be able to grow properly.
Specifically, we recommend that you place your Gaillardia X Grandiflora ‘Goblin’ in from little to partial shade (only 2-6 hours of direct sunlight a day), to dappled or moderate shade (under other plant’s canopy), to full and direct sun (more than 6 hours of direct sunlight per day).
Season
Being a herbaceous plant, the Goblin Blanket Flower will die back to the ground every year.
But, you can expect it to have its ‘prime-time’ during the spring (late), and during the summer (early).
Flowers
You can expect your Goblin Blanket Flower to flower around the spring and in the summer months from April to June (spring), and from July to September (summer).
In particular, this shrub is well known for its long bloom season, flowers for cutting and showy flowers around the plant enthusiast community.
The Goblin Blanket Flower produces some beautiful red, or gold/yellow, cream/tan and white flowers around this time of year.
Foliage
The leaves from the Goblin Blanket Flower have a beautiful gray-green color during most of the year.
In particular, they have a simple arrangement with a opposite and whorled organization in its leaves.
You can expect the leaves from your Gaillardia X Grandiflora ‘Goblin’ to be around (3-6 inches) in size.
Attracts, Tolerance and Resistance
The Goblin Blanket Flower is well known for its tolerance to animals like deer, so don’t worry if any of these come along, your Gaillardia X Grandiflora ‘Goblin’ will be fine.
Garden
Does your Goblin Blanket Flower have any garden recommendations? Does it serve any gardening purposes? Here’s how you can get the most out of your new plant.
Most Gaillardia X Grandiflora ‘Goblin’ owners agree that this shrub will look great in most mediterranean, cottage and rustic gardens of all types.
In particular, the Goblin Blanket Flower’s best location within your garden is in hedges and screens, beds and borders, and in patio and containers, others use it for landscaping in a container, firescaping/fire wise, border, cutting garden, or a wildlife garden.
Companion Plants
Goblin Blanket Flower’s do well with some other plants beside it. One good companion plant is the Perovskia, which will pair up nicely with your leafy friend.
Others consider that a nice Rudbeckia will work well too, so choose whichever you find works best for you!
Conclusion
So that’s it! These are the main plant care requirements that you need to keep in mind in order to have a healthy Goblin Blanket Flower in your garden or home.
