Red Hot Pokers (Kniphofia)

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 to plant them. These flowers vary from brilliant red to burnt orange in colour and can last for weeks on end. Different varieties of kniphofia flower at different times of the year. Winter flowering ‘Winter Cheer’ is a particularly popular addition to winter gardens, not only for their striking colour but contribute a strong architectural structure. 

Planting Red Hot Pokers

Red Hot Pokers like a rich well drained soil in full sun. For best results, plant into Searles Premium Garden Soil. They tolerate wind well and are often seen growing close to coastal areas. Smaller varieties of Kniphofia make great pot specimens. 

Watering Red Hot Pokers

They don’t need much care and will survive well with a good watering about once a week.

Fertilising Red Hot Pokers

To keep them healthy and promote their tall stately flower spikes, fertilise regularly with Searles Flourish Soluble Plant Food.

Remove dead flower stems and leaves after flowering. Red Hot Pokers also respond well to being divided up every three years. They look fabulous as cut flowers to adorn your favourite corner of the room.

Red Hot Pokers attract native birds which feed on their nectar.