Garden Centre

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Kniphofia – a lily by any other name?

If I failed to appreciate my Tamarisk, I make up for it when it comes to some other garden flowers that others consider vulgar – I love gladioli, both the natural and the hybridised kind, and the gaudy Kniphofia with its plethora of common names, is a perennial favourite.

Kniphofia is also know as Tritoma, Red Hot Poker, Torch Lily, and Poker plant – it’s African in origin and has bright rocket-shaped flowers in many shades, not just the red/orange/yellow combo that I personally favour. Nor does it have to be a four foot tall spire of showy brightness that I adore – there are cream and green kniphofias, pale yellow ones, and even some miniature ones. Lovely I’m sure, but why, I wonder, would you bother with such subtlety when there are a thousand other summer bloomers that will deliver those minor garden notes? If you want a Stravinsky-like blurting of incandescent colour, go for the very early (June) or very late (mid-August) classic kniphofias and enjoy them for their spectacular, firework-like, brilliance. Actually, what they most remind me of is the Rocket ice-lolly I used to eat as a child!

Kniphofias are not difficult to grow at all if you understand that they get a lot of water in the growing season in their natural home, but none at all in winter – they insist on good drainage, especially in the colder months. Give them that, and you’ll have a firework display of your own.

Labels: knifophia, red hot pokers, torch lily, tritoma

The All Seasons Gardener at 4:37 AM

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