Gaillardia pulchella grows wild along the Atlantic coast from North Carolina south to Florida, blanketing sandy roadsides and beach walkovers with bold orange-red blooms tipped in yellow. The species name, pulchella, means beautiful in Latin, and the flowers live up to it from summer well into fall. Native Americans wove blankets in the same warm palette, which accounts for the names Indian Blanket and Firewheel alike. The plant is thoroughly naturalized in coastal environments and will grow in soft sand without amendment or irrigation once established.

In the garden, firewheel is one of the most adaptable annuals available. It tolerates drought, heat, salt, and poor soil, asking only for good drainage and full sun. Seed sown directly in fall germinates reliably the following spring, and the plants grow to 18 inches to 2 feet tall, self-seeding freely wherever they find the right conditions. The flowers draw butterflies throughout the season, and seed heads left standing through winter provide for songbirds. It works in containers, cut flower borders, cottage and meadow plantings, and tucked between rocks where little else would establish. Where conditions suit it, it naturalizes without fuss.