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Kniphofias torch lilies/red-hot pokers Part of the acreage where our mother-plants of the torch lilies have grown is low lying and damp in winter, where four or five inches of water may stand for a couple of months. Over the years we have learned how well kniphofias survive on these wetlands. Reading books on their native habitats in Africa, you will often come across descriptions of them prefering to grow in damp seepages and marshy ground. In gardening books, often you will read the opposite, that they should only be planted in well-drained ground. This may be good advice for very cold parts of North America, although it has misled gardeners to plant torch lilies into the driest, most neglected places. They are tough enough to withstand this harsh treatment, but will not look their best nor flower as well as they could. They really would prefer regular deep watering during their growing season, and in my experience, when dormant they survive well with winter wet. Of course it is acknowledged that the winter climate here is nothing like upstate New York or Chicago. If this were Chicago or New York I would likely restrict myself to a few, time-tested varieties, such as 'Primrose Beauty' and 'Springtime.'
Alcazar Originally an Arabic word, the meaning of it according Webster's dictionary is a Spanish fortress or palace. It grows to three feet in height, blooming at midsummer, with flowers hot-colored like burning embers.
Apricot A most unusual color in kniphofias, or for that matter, a most unusual color for any perennial. Another kniphofia, a more recently introduced plant masquerades under this same name, however does not come near to the delectibly soft coloring of this. The other 'Apricot' has been much easier to find in America, although the wholesale nursery distributing it seems to have taken it off the market recently. The one pictured here, grows to 24 to 30 inches in height, flowers in early summer and reblooms regularly once it becomes older.
Atlanta Described in British gardening books as untidy. The reasons to grow it are its vigor and its early-season flowering. To quote Alan Bloom on page 92 of his book, Alan Bloom's Hardy Perennials, “...I am pretty certain that it is none other than what I used to grow as K. tuckii.” His opinion is more than good enough. And I believe that a named variety purchased from a perennial nursery on the east coast of the U.S. approximately fifteen years ago, under the name, 'Shenandoah,' is also the same plant -- the same untidyness, the same coloring, the same height, and the same early-season flowering. Which of these three names should take precedence ? For a continuation of this, and a few steps farther down the path of confusion, see the listing under the varietal name, 'Shenandoah.' Flowers here in May to early June at a height of three to four feet. I like this regardless of its untidiness, and plant it in wilder parts of a landscape. Another way to describe this untidiness would be to say both that it has big, coarse leaves, and that old plants grow into widely spreading clumps, with a sparse amount of leaves and flowers in the center.
Bee's Sunset It flowers here in midsummer. In Califfornia the flowers will show in May. The difference must be due to the Northwest's cooler summers. The flowerheads are shaded a yellow to subtle orange. Reaches a height of three feet. You might dispute this height the first year after you plant it -- it may grow taller for you. As a general rule with many kniphofias, they oftentimes have taller flower spikes their first year, in part, possibly due to rapidly growing in rich, freshly prepared ground. With more time they will settle into their true nature.
Bleached Blonde Our introduction from 1995. Flowering height is three to four feet in early summer. Reblooms reliably at summer's end, with a change of color, having green in the flower. You may find this available at other nurseries listed as originating at Olympic Coast Garden(s). We are Olympic Coast Garden. It is another of our business names.
Bressingham Comet A dwarf plant at eighteen inches, coming late in the summer and on into autumn, the warm colors are particularly cherished as the days turn cooler. The flower buds are green before they open. They turn first to hot orange and lighten to a pastel yellow as they age. Combining them with fall asters of purple and blue is appealing.
Brimstone Brimstone is an autumn-flowering dwarf attaining a stature of only eighteen to twenty-four inches. The slender heads of flowers have green buds and lemon yellow flowers.
Candlelight Lemon yellow flowers on three to four-foot stems in June with more flowers appearing towards fall. There are two different kniphofias with this name. We have both. The one illustrated here was named by Alan Bloom long before the second one appeared. The second is a recent introduction from a nursery in Georgia, and was given a plant patent, believe it or not ! They are nothing like one another. The second is not this lemon color, but is more ivory colored and is shorter.The imposter is a good plant, but why was it allowed to be given this name ? There is more than a little confusion with the naming of these plants.
Candlelight (PP #12342) This is the second kniphofia with this name, a more recent introduction from a nursery in Georgia.
caulescens Large leaves of bluish green decorate this branching, somewhat shrubby torch lily. English planstman, Graham Thomas describes the thick stems being like elephants' trunks. A stem will branch into two or three new shoots the year after a stem flowers, growing just a bit wider and possibly taller in the process, and in this fashion over several years the plant branches above ground. Not that it attains much height, only two or three feet. As a plant reaches old age its side shoots may root into the ground to perpetuate it, or the entire plant might fall over and still continue to grow. It can be one, tough cookie. The flowers come late in summer with colors of pinkish-red and creamy yellow on two to three-foot stems.
Christmas Cheer 'Christmas Cheer' has been growing here outdoors without any protection for well over ten years. The lowest temperature during those years was six degrees Fahrentheit and, to repeat, the plant received no covering or other protection. So the plant survives below freezing quite well. However, the flowers cannot take a frost, and will turn black, unless they happen to open during a spell of warm weather. This does truly flower in the middle of winter, and the only way we can reliably enjoy the flowers is to have a few plants potted up in a greenhouse. The photo shown here was taken in a greenhouse, on January 15th, 2005. Plants in the greenhouse sprouted flower-stalk after flower-stalk for well over a month. So, the bottom line is that it is best in a warmer climate, say San Francisco or warmer. It is one of the brightest torch lilies, even brighter in real life than in this photo. It is a hot orange-red, with older florets turning yellow.
(citrina) According to the books, the true species of citrina should have small, globose flowers (roundish rather than narrow), which the plant pictured here obviously lacks. So it is not the true species. Over the years this nursery has purchased many kniphofias labelled as citrina, some have been yellow, some have not, but none have had the right shape that they should.
Cobra To quote Adrian Bloom in the September 1994 issue of “BBC Gardener's World,” “...my father and I selected from trials at Bressingham. I thought 'Cobra' described the colour and somewhat sinister appearance of the unfolding flower-head quite vividly. The heads emerge bronze above strong evergreen foliage, and change to copper then yellow as the flower open and enlarge.” Other words to describe the flower colors could be a light tannish-orange or orangish-tan on the higher and younger flowers, and a creamy white on the lower and older flowers. Height is three to four feet, and blooming season is summer into autumn.
Coral The flower-head is a solid coral rose, not particularly large nor long, on stems of three feet, blooming here in early summer.
Corallina Bi-colored in an orange-red and creamy yellow. The flowers come in late summer and are two and a half to three feet in height.
David The colors of 'David' are roughly similar to the colors of 'Atlanta,' red on the upper portion of the flowerhead and creamy on the lower portion, however this is shorter than 'Atlanta,' between two and three feet. And 'David' flowers in mid-summer whereas 'Atlanta' blooms in late spring.
(Earliest of All) Do we have this variety among our plants ? Possibly yes, probably no. I have seen this variety offered for sale several times, and have purchased it several times. It is amazing how diverse those plants have been. This re-enforces a lesson to be learned with kniphofias, that the season of bloom might not be the same for gardens in different locations. So when a flowering time is listed, it is based on my experience, growing it here. If you have warmer summers, for example in the Willamette Valley, you may see flowering much earlier. And this is not only true of these plants but also, of other plants. The climate along this coast is so cool that some plants that need more warmth to flower in late summer and in autumn, do not get it, and carry their flower buds over winter and will surprise us with spring and early summer flowers. One good example of this, in a different plant is the climbing aster, Aster carolinianus, that rarely flowers here in autumn, but will flower in spring and early summer. Whatever red-hot poker that was originally given the name, Earliest of All, it could possibly have been named prematurely, based on only one year's experience. For that one year it did flower early. You will still see 'Earliest of All' offered for sale. But beware. Some were purchased from an European source a year ago, and it would be difficult to put much faith in it being the true variety of plant, since the flowers did not even come close to the color as described in the catalog.
Elizabeth Pierce Named here in 1996, this may not be the prettiest yellow torch lily, although it has some charm. It flowers early in the summer as a light lemon yellow, turning a bit golden and returning back to a lighter yellow. It reaches a height of three to four feet, and grows vigorously.
galpinii True K. galpinii, to quote Jane Taylor in her monograph published in “The Plantsman,” has a “bicolorous inflorescence, flame red ageing to orange yellow.” The plants in this photo are bicolored to a degree. They might not be the true species, but the “galpinii of gardens,” more correctly named triangularis subspecies triangularis. The plants here flower at the end of summer, and are dwarf at eighteen inches. This warm color is especially appreciated as the days grow cooler when combined with fall flowers such as pansies, asters, chrysanthemums and low ornamental grasses.
Gladness With a height of about three feet, the flowers are orange and glowing apricot in mid to late summer.
Glow Flowers of a solid coral red in mid summer on stems of two to three feet. To help this settle into a new home, winter protection is recommended for its first winter. It will rebloom in fall.
Gold Else Also spelled, Kniphofia Goldelse. With a low height of two to two and a half feet, this is an old variety dating from 1908 that according to Jane Taylor is a primary hybrid between the two species, pauciflora and citrina. The color is a light yellow. It flowers in summer.
Goldmine In July and August come these golden flowers saturated in a cinnamon amber, in a warmly burnished, sunny hue. Their height is two and half feet to three and a half feet.
Green Jade Flowering towards the end of summer, with a height of three to four feet, the color is a lime green.
hirsuta The colors are reddish above and creamy yellow below, with stems of eighteen inches. If you rub your fingers along the leaves you can see why it is named hirsuta (meaning hairy), for the rough, sandpaper-like texture of the leaf surfaces. Other torch lilies have smooth surfaces.
Ice Queen One of my favorites, the large white torches are lime green when first opening, on stems of three feet, showing late summer into fall. Although large sized, it grows more slowly than others. In late summer and fall when there are so many warm colors, this cool white and lime is arresting.
Lemon Queen To quote Jane Taylor in “The Plantsman,” “...an old cultivar, mentioned as long ago as 1902 (The Garden); a seedling of K. citrina producing in August dense spikes of lemon yellow flowers, green-tinted at first, fading to silver; 90cm (36 in.). It received an Award of Merit at the Wisley trials in 1929, and is I believe still in cultivation.” It flowers in coastal Washington in June and July and its colors are a pure lemon yellow.
linearifolia Very large, robust plants, the flower stems reach to four feet, and the season is fall. The flower-heads are large and rotund. The flowers of the plant pictured here open orange with light yellow tips, and change to a pale, creamy yellow as they age.
Little Candle With soft amber flowers, this is a small-flowered plants that grows two feet tall. It blooms mid summer into fall.
Little Elf Small flowers of pumpkin appear in late summer into autumn on stems of eighteen inches.
Little Maid With a low height of eighteen inches, this dwarf has a very long flower-head. There is a variety of colors showing at one time, light yellow, creamy white and chartreuse. The flowering season is exceptionally long, from mid to late summer. It looks good in many places. And it would be a great addition to a container of flowering plants.
Nancy's Red Only two feet tall is this torch lily. Her flowers are a coral red, showing at the end of summer and on into fall.
northiae Famous for the length of its leaves that grow so long they sprawl on the ground away from the plant. The bloom season is early summer here. The color of the flowers are a pastel red or orange and a creamy light yellow.
Parmentier This plant was purchased from a perennial nursery in North Carolina a decade or more ago. It flowers late in the season in a salmon coral that turns creamy on the edge of the older florets. Its height is two to three feet. The flower-heads are nicely tapered from top to bottom and are thinner than usual.
pauciflora Very tiny, dainty flowerheads make this a surprise, that is not your typical hot-colored torch lily. The flower season is late spring to early summer, with rebloom possible in late summer. It is not tall, at eighteen inches.
Peaches and Cream Two toned with peach above and creamy yellow below, in softly contrasting colors. The flowers open in early to mid summer, with stems of three to four feet. Our first plants were generously supplied by Digging Dog Nursery, P.O. Box 471, Albion, California 95410. The proprietors, Deborah Whigham and Gary Ratway tell us they started this plant from seed Gary purchased at Butchart Gardens some years ago.
Click here for more Kniphofias continued on next page There are a total of sixty-plus kniphofias listed here, thirty-seven on this page and twenty-seven on the next page.
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