Gardens look brilliant with dazzling red and yellow flowers, but if you want a magnificent stately flower spike that stands metres high, then you can’t go past the Red Hot Poker (Kniphofia). Red Hot Pokers are a simple looking plant with straplike leaves but their magnificent flower spikes that can stand metres tall are why gardeners choose. The charming strawberry pink blooms fade to cream at the base as they mature. The flowers of Kniphofia ‘Strawberries and Cream’ open from late summer to autumn. The old ‘Red Hot Pokers’ have come a long way. With an expanded colour range, these durable plants are hard to go past. Kniphofia Pineapple Popsicle - Common name:Red Hot Poker, Torch Lily, Tritoma - Spikes in scrumptious shades of bright juicy yellow to ivory cream. Kniphofia Pineapple Popsicle produces massive numbers of reblooming color. From the refreshing new Popsicle™ Series of deliciously attractive Red Hot Poker plants which combine compact habit, high-impact colors and grassy foliage that remains.
Common Name
red hot poker, torch lily
Traits
- Sun
- Coastal
- Feature
- Birds
Flowering Season
Autumn, Winter, Spring
Genus
Mostly from South Africa, there are around 70 species of clump-forming perennials that make up this genus in the asphodel (Asphodelaceae) family, They are grown mainly for their tall flower stems that are topped with vivid bottlebrush-shaped heads of red, orange, yellow, cream, and sometimes green flowers, and many hybrids and cultivars have been raised in a variety of sizes, and these have extended the flower colour range even further. The genus name honours German professor Johann Hieronymus Kniphof (17041763), while the common names red hot poker or torch lily, aptly describe the appearance of the striking flowerheads.
Appearance
Red hot pokers are clump-forming perennials with grassy to sword-shaped, often evergreen foliage that emerges from vigorous rhizomes. Tall sturdy flower stems bear bottlebrush heads of intensely coloured flowers, usually in shades of orange and red. Many hybrids and cultivars have been raised in a variety of sizes and flower colours. Flowering usually occurs from autumn to spring, depending on the species, and the blooms last well when cut.
Cultivation
Kniphofia species require a position in full sun with moist, humus-rich, well-drained soil, and they should be watered well during the flowering season. Most species tolerate light to moderate frosts, though none will tolerate repeated heavy frosts; they can cope with salt winds and will thrive near the coast. Propagation is usually by division after flowering, or from seed.
Gardening Australia suggests you check with your local authorities regarding the weed potential of any plants for your particular area.
© Global Book Publishing (Australia) Pty Ltd from Flora's Gardening Cards
Topics
Red hot pokers | |
---|---|
Fiery colored Kniphofia | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Monocots |
Order: | Asparagales |
Family: | Asphodelaceae |
Subfamily: | Asphodeloideae |
Genus: | Kniphofia Moench |
Synonyms[1] | |
|
Kniphofia/nɪpˈhoʊfiə/,[2] also called tritoma, red hot poker, torch lily, knofflers[citation needed] or poker plant, is a genus of perennialflowering plants in the familyAsphodelaceae, first described as a genus in 1794.[3] It is native to Africa.
Strawberries And Cream Crepes
Description[edit]
Herbaceous species and hybrids have narrow, grass-like leaves 10–100 cm (4–39 in) long, while evergreen species have broader, strap-shaped foliage up to 1.5 m (5 ft) long. All plants produce spikes of upright, brightly coloured flowers well above the foliage, in shades of red, orange and yellow, often bicoloured.[4] The flowers produce copious nectar while blooming and are attractive to bees and sunbirds. In the New World they may attract sap-suckers such as hummingbirds and New World orioles.
Etymology[edit]
The genus Kniphofia is named after Johann Hieronymus Kniphof, an 18th-century German physician and botanist.
Cultivation[edit]
Are Your Strawberries Red
Several species of Kniphofia are cultivated as garden plants, valued for their architectural properties. These include K. galpini, K. northiae, K. rooperi and K. thomsonii.
In addition to the species, many named cultivars of mixed or uncertain parentage have been selected for garden use. The following have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit:-[5]
- 'Bees' Sunset'[6] (yellow)
- 'Brimstone Bloom'[7] (sulphur yellow)
- 'Buttercup'[8] (clear yellow)
- 'Nobilis'[9] (evergreen, orange and yellow)
- 'Royal Standard'[10] (red and yellow)
- 'Samuel's Sensation'[11] (tall herbaceous variety, scarlet flowers fading to yellow at the base)
- 'Sunningdale Yellow'[12] (orange-yellow)
- 'Tawny King'[13] (cream/brown)
- 'Toffee Nosed'[14] (cream/brown)
- 'Wrexham Buttercup'[15] (yellow)
Species[edit]
There are about 73 described species.[1][16]
- Kniphofia acraeaCodd - Cape Province of South Africa
- Kniphofia albescensCodd - Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal
- Kniphofia albomontanaBaijnath - Lesotho, South Africa
- Kniphofia angustifolia(Baker) Codd - KwaZulu-Natal
- Kniphofia ankaratrensisBaker - Madagascar
- Kniphofia bauriiBaker - KwaZulu-Natal, Cape Province
- Kniphofia benguellensisWelw. ex Baker - Angola, Zambia
- Kniphofia bequaertiiDe Wild. - Zaïre, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda
- Kniphofia brachystachya(Zahlbr.) Codd - Lesotho, KwaZulu-Natal, Cape Province
- Kniphofia brevifloraHarv. ex Baker - KwaZulu-Natal, Free State
- Kniphofia bruceae(Codd) Codd - Cape Province
- Kniphofia buchananiiBaker - KwaZulu-Natal
- Kniphofia caulescensBaker - Lesotho, KwaZulu-Natal, Cape Province, Free State
- Kniphofia citrinaBaker - Cape Province
- Kniphofia coddianaCufod. - KwaZulu-Natal, Cape Province
- Kniphofia coralligemmaE.A.Bruce - Limpopo
- Kniphofia crassifoliaBaker - Limpopo
- Kniphofia drepanophyllaBaker - KwaZulu-Natal, Cape Province
- Kniphofia dubiaDe Wild - Zaire, Tanzania, Zambia, Angola
- Kniphofia ensifoliaBaker - South Africa
- Kniphofia × erythraeaeFiori - Eritrea (K. pumila × K. schimperi)
- Kniphofia evansiiBaker - KwaZulu-Natal
- Kniphofia fibrosaBaker - KwaZulu-Natal, Cape Province
- Kniphofia flammulaCodd - KwaZulu-Natal
- Kniphofia fluviatilisCodd - South Africa
- Kniphofia foliosaHochst. - Ethiopia
- Kniphofia galpiniiBaker - KwaZulu-Natal, Swaziland, Mpumalanga
- Kniphofia goetzeiEngl. - Tanzania
- Kniphofia gracilisHarv. ex Baker - KwaZulu-Natal, Cape Province
- Kniphofia grantiiBaker - Zaïre, Tanzania, Zambia, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Malawi
- Kniphofia hildebrandtiiCufod. - Ethiopia
- Kniphofia hirsutaCodd - Lesotho, Cape Province
- Kniphofia ichopensisSchinz - KwaZulu-Natal
- Kniphofia insignisRendle - Ethiopia
- Kniphofia isoetifoliaHochst. - Ethiopia
- Kniphofia latifoliaCodd - KwaZulu-Natal
- Kniphofia laxifloraKunth - KwaZulu-Natal, Cape Province
- Kniphofia leucocephalaBaijnath - KwaZulu-Natal
- Kniphofia linearifoliaBaker - Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Swaziland, South Africa
- Kniphofia littoralisCodd - KwaZulu-Natal
- Kniphofia marungensisLisowski & Wiland - Zaïre
- Kniphofia mulanjeanaS.Blackmore - Mt. Mulanje in Malawi
- Kniphofia multifloraJ.M.Wood & M.S.Evans - Swaziland, South Africa
- Kniphofia nanaMarais - Zaïre
- Kniphofia northiaeBaker - KwaZulu-Natal, Cape Province
- Kniphofia nubigenaMildbr. - Sudan
- Kniphofia pallidifloraBaker - Massif de l' Ankaratra in Madagascar
- Kniphofia paludosaEngl - Elton Plateau in Tanzania
- Kniphofia parvifloraKunth - KwaZulu-Natal, Cape Province
- Kniphofia paucifloraBaker - KwaZulu-Natal
- Kniphofia porphyranthaBaker - Lesotho, Swaziland, South Africa
- Kniphofia praecoxBaker - Cape Province
- Kniphofia princeae (A.Berger) Marais - Zaïre, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Malawi
- Kniphofia pumila(Aiton) Kunth - Zaïre, Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea
- Kniphofia reflexaHutch. ex Codd - Nigeria, Cameroon (endangered)[17]
- Kniphofia reynoldsiiCodd - Tanzania, Zambia
- Kniphofia rigidifoliaE.A.Bruce - Mpumalanga
- Kniphofia ritualisCodd - Free State, Lesotho, KwaZulu-Natal
- Kniphofia rooperi(T.Moore) Lem. - KwaZulu-Natal, Cape Province
- Kniphofia sarmentosa (Andrews) Kunth - Cape Province
- Kniphofia schimperiBaker - Ethiopia, Eritrea
- Kniphofia splendidaE.A.Bruce - Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, northeastern South Africa, Swaziland
- Kniphofia strictaCodd - Cape Province, Lesotho
- Kniphofia sumaraeDeflers - Ibb Mountains of Yemen
- Kniphofia tabularisMarloth - Cape Province
- Kniphofia thodeiBaker - Lesotho, KwaZulu-Natal
- Kniphofia thomsoniiBaker - Zaïre, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia
- Kniphofia triangularisKunth - Lesotho, South Africa
- Kniphofia typhoidesCodd - Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal, Free State, Mpumalanga
- Kniphofia tysoniiBaker - KwaZulu-Natal, Cape Province, Swaziland
- Kniphofia umbrinaCodd - Swaziland
- Kniphofia uvaria(L.) Oken - Cape Province; naturalized in Mexico, North Carolina, Spain, Oregon, Turkey, Washington State, St. Helena, California
- Kniphofia vandewegheiFischer & Ackermann - Rwanda
Gallery[edit]
Yellow Kniphofia
'Shenandoah' Red Hot Poker
Kniphofia foliosa in Simien Mountains National Park, Ethiopia
Kniphofia along the Ohlone Greenway trail in El Cerrito, California
References[edit]
- ^ abKew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
- ^Sunset Western Garden Book, 1995:606–607
- ^Stevens, P.F., Angiosperm Phylogeny Website: Asparagales: Asphodeloideae
- ^RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants. United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. 2008. p. 1136. ISBN1405332964.
- ^'AGM Plants - Ornamental'(PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 57. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
- ^'RHS Plant Selector - Kniphofia 'Bees Sunset'. Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- ^'RHS Plant Selector - Kniphofia 'Brimstone Bloom''. Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- ^'RHS Plant Selector - Kniphofia 'Buttercup''. Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- ^'RHS Plant Selector - Kniphofia 'Nobilis''. Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- ^'RHS Plant Selector - Kniphofia 'Royal Standard''. Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- ^'RHS Plant Selector - Kniphofia 'Samuel's Sensation''. Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- ^'RHS Plant Selector - Kniphofia 'Sunningdale Yellow''. Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- ^'RHS Plant Selector - Kniphofia 'Tawny King''. Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- ^'RHS Plant Selector - Kniphofia 'Toffee Nosed''. Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- ^'RHS Plant Selector - Kniphofia 'Wrexham Buttercup''. Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- ^'A New Species of Kniphofia from Nyungwe National Park, Rwanda'. Novataxa. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
- ^'Kniphofia reflexa'. Redlist.org. Retrieved 2012-05-13.
External links[edit]
- Dressler, S.; Schmidt, M. & Zizka, G. (2014). 'Kniphofia'. African plants – a Photo Guide. Frankfurt/Main: Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg.
Strawberries And Cream Recipe
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