Red hot poker
Kniphofia uvaria · Asphodelaceae
Dense, torch-like spikes that open red-orange at the top and fade to yellow below, on bare stems above grassy leaves. Hummingbirds visit constantly.
- Size
- 3½ ft tall, 24 in wide
- Zones
- 5 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Late June to early August
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Accent
A bed built around red hot poker
The planner designed this bed around red hot poker when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) cottage garden in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 715 that suit those conditions and its dry soil, and says below why red hot poker stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Red hot poker × 3, orange
- 2 Cheddar pinks 'Firewitch' × 11, pink
- 3 October daphne × 5, pink
- 4 Stiff goldenrod × 5, yellow
- 5 Dwarf English boxwood × 1, dark green leaves
- 6 Beardtongue 'Husker Red' × 3, white
- 7 Grecian windflower × 12, blue
- 8 Star of Persia × 4, purple
Why this plant
- The only orange.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 3½ ft it is among the tallest plants here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to beardtongue 'Husker Red' (2½ ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- 3 plants in one clump. A single spire is too slight to hold a place alone, so here the accent is a clump.
Why now
- In flower for 7 weeks. From late June to early August.
- Fills a gap. For six of those weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as a cottage garden: 28 of the 28 plants (100%), bulbs aside, stand alone or in groups of no more than five, small enough for the kinds to mingle. Red hot poker and stiff goldenrod anchor the back corners of the bed: the tallest plants on the plan stand there. The scheme leans cool (pink, blue and purple) and uses orange and yellow for warmth, with white to calm things between them.
The planner's own design check: 11 Excellent, 6 Good. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where red hot poker goes in a border
At 3½ ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is moderately tall (3 to 4 ft).
Its job: accent. An upright plant used singly, like a punctuation mark, and repeated at intervals to give the bed rhythm.
The strongest vertical in the hot-colour range, and a shape that punctuates mounded daylilies and grasses. It needs excellent winter drainage; wet soil in the cold kills the crown.
- A hot vertical accent
- Coastal and dry gardens
- Hummingbird gardens
What to plant with red hot poker
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Daylily: in flower together for seven weeks, from late June.
- Blanket flower: in flower together for seven weeks, from late June; a low mound at the foot of its spires; low enough (20 in) to stand in front of it.
- Russian sage: in flower together for five weeks, from mid July; happy in the same dry soil.
Questions about red hot poker
Does red hot poker need sun or shade?
Red hot poker grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants dry, sharply drained soil, of average fertility, and little watering once settled.
What zones does red hot poker grow in?
USDA zones 5 to 9. It is hardy to zone 5, which means it survives winter nights down to about −10 °F (−23 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does red hot poker flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late June to early August. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 5 | Late June to early August |
|---|---|
| Zone 6 | Late June to early August |
| Zone 7 | Late June to early August |
| Zone 8 | Late June to early August |
| Zone 9 | Mid June to late July |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should red hot poker be planted?
24 in (60 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is about its full width, so each plant keeps its own outline.
It grows 3½ ft (100 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many red hot poker plants do I need?
At 24 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 3 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 6 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 10 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as one at a time, repeated along the bed at intervals; a slender one reads better as a clump of three.
In the bed above, the planner used three in one group.
Is red hot poker poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension and the ASPCA.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Is there a native plant like red hot poker?
Red hot poker comes from Southwestern and the South Cape Province of South Africa. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Lupine: the same job in a bed; 6 in narrower, flowers late May to early July.
- Carolina lupine: the same job in a bed; 8 in taller, flowers late May to late June.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Do deer eat red hot poker?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer and rabbits. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
What flowers after red hot poker?
Red hot poker is over by early August. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Lilyturf: from early August to mid September, 16 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Sedum 'Autumn Joy': from mid August to mid October, 24 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Little bluestem 'Standing Ovation': from early August to mid September, 3½ ft tall.
What does red hot poker look like in winter?
Red hot poker holds some of its leaves into winter, more in a mild year or a sheltered spot, and they look tired by March. Cut the old ones off as new growth starts.
Is red hot poker good for bees and butterflies?
Red hot poker is visited by pollinators, butterflies and hummingbirds.
More Kniphofia
- Red hot poker 'Flamenco' Kniphofia 'Flamenco'
- Red hot poker 'Percy's Pride' Kniphofia 'Percy's Pride'
In these guides
- Salt-tolerant plants for roadsides and coasts
- Deer-resistant perennials for full sun
- Rabbit-resistant plants
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Plants for hummingbirds
- Plants for butterflies
- Plants with spires: vertical accents
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 3½ ft (100 cm) tall, 24 in (60 cm) wide
- Plant
- 24 in (60 cm) apart
- Height class
- Moderately tall (3 to 4 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Late June to early August; upright spires; orange, red, yellow
- Leaves
- Medium texture, semi-evergreen; green
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 5 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Average, dry and sharply drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Asphodelaceae
- Comes from
- Southwestern and the South Cape Province of South Africa
- Attracts
- Pollinators, butterflies, hummingbirds
- Stands up to
- Deer, rabbits, salt
Checked against NC State Extension and ASPCA poison lists. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.