Out of Africa - Garden Plants – Kniphofia

Name - These are fortunately, more commonly called red-hot pokers, in reference to their upright silhouette and reddish colouring, which gets more intense towards the tip, not only is the name highly appropriate, red hot poker is considerably easier to say!

Description - The downward-pointing flowers open from the bottom of the stem upwards, the flowers grow all round the tall stem, and change in colour from light to intense as they get closer to the tip. The colour range may be from light primrose to orange, from orange to brilliant red or, very rarely, from pale green to a deep yellow.

Origin - Kniphofia are native to South Africa and were named after German physician J H Kniphof, a man who was dedicated to botany and who published a beautiful book containing botanical illustrations which he made by coating each specimen with printer’s ink and then carefully pressing/rolling it onto the paper, a process still known as nature printing. Kniphofia grow well in rich soil located in an open sunny position or partial shade in the UK. Most species require plenty of water during the growing season if they are to thrive and flower well and are generally hardy to semi-hardy. Most species tolerate some frost but the winter-flowering species should be protected. A point to note is that Kniphofia resents being disturbed and can take a year to settle down after being divided during which time it will not flower well.

For Decoration - The long stems are usually sold in flower shops as straight upright spears but if you grow them in the garden you can actually bend them, using wire, to create interesting curves for flower arranging. The lower flowers can be snipped off as they die.

Africa Kniphofia photograph by topend, used under a creative commons attribution licence

 

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