Kniphofia caulescens
.png)
Kniphofia caulescens• Click here to visit our Main Plant List page for current availability of this plant
• common names: red-hot poker, torch lily
• flowering season: late summer
• height: 2 to 3 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 regular watering during summer
• Growth habit: grows as a clump of bluish-green leaves, with short thick, branching stems
• How to propagate: divide in spring or early summer
• Leaf type: wide, glaucous blue-green leaves
• Special characteristics: colorful flowers and colorful leaves
• Other points of interests: its flowers produce lots of nectar that attract both hummingbirds and various songbirds
Kniphofia caulescens is a unique red-hot poker that is native to higher elevations in Lesotho (pronounced li-'soo-too), a small country in southern Africa. Because it is native to higher elevations it survives a fair degree of winter chill. Several online websites claim it to be hardy to USDA Zone 5. In just the right location it may, however Zone 6 is a safer bet. Be sure to plant it where the soil drains well. Its species name, caulescens, refers to the stems branching above ground. Its mature height will be 18 to 24 inches, with flowers 24 inches above that. The flowers are a coral-red above and a creamy light yellow below. For us they bloom in late summer. In warmer places they bloom from mid to late summer. The leaves tend to be evergreen, even though freezing weather will burn back the leaf tips. The leaves are a striking bluish, glaucous green. The flowers are pollinated by birds in its native home. Birds, particularly hummingbirds and a few songbirds, visit its flowers in our gardens, drinking the nectar. USDA Zones 6 - 8 in the East, to Zone 10 in the West.