Kniphofia linearifolia
Kniphofia linearifolia• Click here to visit our Main Plant List page for current availability of this plant
• common names: torch lily, red-hot poker
• flowering season: late summer into fall
• height: generally 4 to 5 feet, sometimes to 7 feet
• Light requirements: full sun, half a day of sun will do
• Soil requirements: average to rich and well drained
• Water requirments: will survive in a dry landscape although it will grow better and flower more profusely with weekly deep watering during summer
• Growth habit: grows into a large mass of long leaves
• How to propagate: divide in spring or early summer
• Leaf type: longer leaves than most torch lilies
• Ways to use it: grows well with other flowering perennials in the sunny garden
• 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
Although the height of this flower spike can reach to seven feet, normally its height is in a range of four to five feet. At first the flowers are an orange-tangerine that open to yellow, with a medium size to the head of flowers. The season of bloom is late in summer, to early fall. The leaves are wider than most with a long length, and will take up quite a bit of ground space. USDA Zones 7 - 10.