Kniphofia 'Royal Standard'
Kniphofia 'Royal Standard'• Click here to visit our Main Plant List page for current availability of this plant
• common names: torch lily, red-hot poker
• flowering season: July and August
• height: 3 to 4 feet
• Light requirements: full sun, half a day of sun will do
• Soil requirements: average to rich and well drained
• Water requirements: will survive in a dry landscape although it will grow better and flower more profusely with weekly deep watering during summer
• Growth habit: a slowly widening clump
• How to propagate: divide in spring or early summer
• Leaf type: narrow and moderately long
• Ways to use it: grows well with other flowering perennials in the sunny garden; grows well in a large pot on a terrace or deck where it will attract hummingbirds up close to you house
• Special characteristics: its upright, spiky flowers have lots of character and are a focal point among other flowering plants, especially contrasting nicely with mounding and cushion shaped perennials; it doesn't need much care once planted other than regular watering; gardeners in climates colder than USDA Zone 6 should give it winter protection such as covering with a mulch or a large basket turned upside down and weighed down with a large rock on top
• Other points of interests: its flowers produce lots of nectar that attracts both hummingbirds and various songbirds that will cling to the stems to sip the nectar
A plant that is not new, 'Royal Standard' is still not frequently seen. At least not the true specimen. The colors of 'Royal Standard' are a lemon yellow with the top third of the torch in scarlet. To quote Jane Taylor in her book, The Milder Garden, “...Kniphofia 'Royal Standard,'...a 3-foot bicolor, its acid-yellow and clear vermilion colouring giving it considerable allure -- unlike most red and yellow pokers.” Flowers appear in July and August on stems of three to four feet. USDA Zones 6 - 9, and to zone 10 in the West.