Red Hot Poker - The Ultimate Growing Guide from Proven Winners®
Add sizzling color and tropical appeal to your yard with this stunning flowering plant
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Red hot poker plant (Kniphofia uvaria, spp. and hybrids), is a long-lived flowering perennial with dramatic vertical flower spikes and strappy grass-like foliage. Native to South Africa, red hot poker is also known as kniphofia, tritoma or torch lily for the statuesque flowers that resemble a flaming torch. This showy ornamental plant is hardy in most growing regions, belying its exotic tropical appearance.
The tubular flower clusters are especially attractive to hummingbirds and butterflies. Kniphofia is not poisonous and is safe around pets and humans. When given the right growing conditions, red hot poker is easy to grow, with minimal care requirements. Find out more on how to grow and use red hot poker in your yard.
RED HOT POKER CARE & PLANTING
How to plant: Kniphofia has dense rhizomatous roots and a clumping habit, and is most often grown from divisions and potted plants. Red hot poker prefers a site with full sun and well-draining soil. When growing red hot poker, plant in spring when all danger of frost is past.
Follow these steps, spacing plants 1-3 feet apart, depending on the variety:
- Loosen soil in the planting area.
- Remove the plant from its nursery container and loosen roots if potbound.
- Dig a hole slightly wider and deeper than the root ball.
- Place in the hole so the crown of the plant is level with the surrounding soil.
- Fill in the hole with soil, tamp down lightly to remove air pockets, and water well.
- Keep plants watered regularly until established.
Soil: Kniphofia tolerates different types of soil, but performs best in moderately rich, well-drained soil. Amend native soil with compost or other organic matter before planting and provide good drainage to prevent root rot.
Watering: Red hot poker is drought tolerant once established, but does best with moderate water. Avoid overwatering to prevent root rot.
Fertilizing: Kniphofia plants need little or no supplemental fertilizer as long as soil has been amended. If soil is poor, apply a slow release all-purpose fertilizer in early spring according to package instructions.
Mulching: Plants can be mulched around the base with compost or other organic matter to suppress weeds, retain moisture and provide nutrients. Avoid placing mulch too close to the base of the plant to prevent root rot.
Pruning: The grass-like foliage of red hot poker plant is evergreen or semi-evergreen, depending on the climate. Foliage will suffer winter damage in colder regions. When cutting back red hot poker leaves, prune back the old foliage in early spring before new growth emerges.
How to deadhead red hot poker plants: Remove spent red hot poker flower spikes down to the base of the plant to encourage rebloom and neaten the appearance.
TRY THESE PROVEN WINNERS® VARIETIES
Add these stunning kniphofia varieties to your landscape:
 Pyromania® ‘Orange Blaze’ Red Hot Poker (Kniphofia hybrid) has brilliant orange flowers and a long bloom time throughout the summer, with a diminutive growth habit suitable for border edging and small spaces. Add a bright pop of color to beds and mass plantings. Zones: 5-9 Find more plants for tight spaces. |
 Pyromania® ‘Rocket’s Red Glare’ Red Hot Poker (Kniphofia hybrid) produces fiery red buds that open to creamy peach flowers for a striking two-toned effect. The petite size is suitable for smaller yards and mass plantings. In colder regions, provide winter protection by covering the crown with leaves or other mulch. Zones: 6-9 |
 Pyromania® ‘Backdraft’ Red Hot Poker (Kniphofia hybrid) has reddish-orange flower spikes that age to peachy yellow from the bottom up, creating a bicolor effect that resembles a flaming torch. This medium-sized variety makes an eye-catching accent in a mixed border or waterwise landscape. Zones: 5-9 |
 Pyromania® ‘Hot and Cold’ Red Hot Poker (Kniphofia hybrid) produces warm tangerine-orange flower buds that open to cooler hues of creamy white from the bottom up, for dramatic contrasting color. Add long-lasting color to beds, borders and mass plantings. Zones: 5-9 |
 Pyromania® ‘Solar Flare’ Red Hot Poker (Kniphofia hybrid) has sunny yellow flowers that bloom throughout the summer for weeks of continuous color in the landscape. This taller variety is striking in a border or as a focal point, providing an extra pop of contrast when combined with complementary colors of purple or blue. Zones: 5-9 |
RED HOT POKER FAQ’s
Do red hot pokers come back every year?
This long-lived perennial comes back from year to year. Provide mulch or other winter protection in USDA zones 5-6.
Where do red hot pokers grow best?
Kniphofia thrives in full sun and well-draining soil. In hotter climates, provide light shade in the afternoon to prevent heat stress.
Are red hot pokers invasive?
When given ideal growing conditions, red hot poker has an aggressive spreading growth habit. It is considered invasive in parts of California and the Pacific Northwest.
How do you keep red hot pokers blooming?
Deadhead spent flowers to encourage rebloom. If plants are not blooming well, it may be due to a number of factors, including too much shade, lack of nutrients, being planted too deeply, or that plants need dividing. Red hot poker bulbs should be divided every few years.
Do red hot poker plants spread?
Kniphofia spreads through its rhizomatous root system and can have an aggressive growth habit when provided ideal growing conditions. Divide and move plants as needed to keep them under control.
Do deer eat red hot poker plants?
Deer generally avoid eating kniphofia, though they may graze on almost any plant if other food sources are scarce.
LANDSCAPING IDEAS
Here are some ideas on how to use kniphofia plants in your landscape:
- Include kniphofia in a tropical-themed border with other exotic-looking plants such as banana, canna lily, coleus, elephant’s ear, hibiscus, lantana or palm trees.
- Add kniphofia to a rock garden for height and a bright pop of color.
- Plant a butterfly garden and include red hot poker alongside other plants that attract butterflies such as bee balm, blazing star, butterfly bush, buttonbush, catmint, coneflower, Joe-pye weed, lantana, milkweed and salvia.
- Place red hot poker at intervals in a mixed border for repetition and vertical pops of color. Find more attention-grabbing plants.
- Add bright color to a fence line by planting a row of kniphofia.
- Create a cutting garden and include kniphofia with other favorites such as aster, black-eyed Susan, coneflower, dahlias, iris, roses, salvia and zinnias.
- Plant red hot poker plants along a poolside to evoke the feeling of a lush tropical resort.
- Plant red hot poker plant in pots and display as a showy focal point in the landscape. Find more container plants.
- Mass kniphofia along a slope to add height and color to the landscape, and to help stabilize the soil.
- Create a waterwise curbside planting with kniphofia and other drought-tolerant plants such as black-eyed Susan, blanket flower, catmint, coneflower, lavender, ornamental grasses and sedum. Find more plants for hot, dry climates.
RED HOT POKER COMPANION PLANTS
Plant red hot poker alongside other plants with similar cultural needs of full sun and well-drained soil.
Create an exotic tropical look by combining kniphofia in a bed or border with:
- Toucan Coral® canna lily
- Heart of the Jungle® elephant’s ear
- Summerific® ‘Berry Awesome’ rose mallow
- ‘Perfect Profusion’ salvia
Plant kniphofia along with other summer bloomers such as:
- ‘Denim 'n Lace’ Russian sage
- Amazing Daisies® Daisy May® Shasta daisy
- ‘Firefly Sunshine’ yarrow
- Rainbow Rhythm® ‘Ruby Spider’ daylily
Attract hummingbirds, butterflies and insect pollinators by planting kniphofia with:
- Luscious® Berry Blend™ lantana
- ‘Leading Lady Pink’ bee balm
- ‘Cat’s Meow’ catmint
- Pugster Pink® butterfly bush
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