Mine grew from seed this summer without any cold exposure.

hey john.. note the zone difference .. in the answer above ...

your question in MI should be whether the seed is winter hardy.. and will live in the ground over winter..

or whether you need to harvest some.. and spread them in late winter .. or winter sow them ..

and you would do that by googling the latin name of your common name [put your common name folowed by 'latin name'] .. and doing some research.. should our friends here fail to know.. which rarely happens ...

i dont have many gallardia .. never did.. but i dont recall any rogue seedlings in my garden ... in livonia nor adrian MI ..

ken

I don't think the answer to John's question depends on his Zone: Gaillardia seeds germinate readily and almost immediately from seed. I have several plants that have grown from seed already this year; therefore, there is no need for a cold period for germination.

Since Gaillardia is native to most of the United States, including Michigan, I suspect the seeds have no trouble overwintering as well.

'Germinate immediately' - not exactly. Most Gaillardia (there are annual and perennial types) will germinate in about 2-3 weeks at 65-70F, a moist chill first isn't required.

If you are considering sowing now, how far may you be from your first hard frost after tentative mid-October germination - newest seedlings with shallow roots may not make it through your winter.

By "almost immediately," I meant within a couple weeks. I put the seeds down in late June (temps were definitely warmer than 65-70 degrees) and less than a month later I had little babies. To me, that is pretty fast. But I wouldn't sow now in Michigan and expect them to survive winter.

morz is right.. there is NOT enough time to germ and grow enough before winter.. we had two frosts this week ... which means a freeze is not far behind.. probably before germination would happen ...

and they are NOT houseplants .. or at least wont be easy as such ... unless you have a light stand.. greenhouse ... perfect humidity .. etc ..

but my key is always along the lines ... presuming you have a volume of seed.

mark an area.. scratch a few into mother earth .. and mark the spot so you remember next spring [thats a big key.. lol .. nothing like remembering what you did.. a day or two after you weeded them out.. lol ..] ...

put a few in a pot.. and put it in the garage.. keep it moist all winter.. just put an ice cube on it once a month or so ... after the ground freezes ...

and try a couple in a pot indoors..

cover all your options ... experiment ...and learn ...

there is no real need to figure out the one true way ...

ken