 Kniphofia 'Royal Standard' $8.95
- common names: torch lily, red-hot poker
- flowering season: July and August
- height: 3 to 4 feet
- Light requirements: full sun, half a day of sun will do
- Soil requirements: average to rich and well drained
- Water requirements: will survive in a dry landscape although it will grow better and flower more profusely with weekly deep watering during summer
- Growth habit: a slowly widening clump
- How to propagate: divide in spring or early summer
- Leaf type: narrow and moderately long
- Ways to use it: grows well with other flowering perennials in the sunny garden; grows well in a large pot on a terrace or deck where it will attract hummingbirds up close to you house
- Special characteristics: its upright, spiky flowers have lots of character and are a focal point among other flowering plants, especially contrasting nicely with mounding and cushion shaped perennials; it doesn't need much care once planted other than regular watering; gardeners in climates colder than USDA Zone 6 should give it winter protection such as covering with a mulch or a large basket turned upside down and weighed down with a large rock on top
- Other points of interests: its flowers produce lots of nectar that attracts both hummingbirds and various songbirds that will cling to the stems to sip the nectar
A plant that is not new, 'Royal Standard' is still not frequently seen. At least not the true specimen. The colors of 'Royal Standard' are a lemon yellow with the top third of the torch in scarlet. To quote Jane Taylor in her book, The Milder Garden, “...Kniphofia 'Royal Standard,'...a 3-foot bicolor, its acid-yellow and clear vermilion colouring giving it considerable allure -- unlike most red and yellow pokers.” Flowers appear in July and August on stems of three to four feet. USDA Zones 6 - 9, and to zone 10 in the West. |
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