The many red hot poker varieties, or torch lilies, have long been relied upon to bring a touch of the exotic to our backyards. Probably most familiar is tall Kniphofia rooperi, towering head and shoulders above other plants from early to late fall. Classic poker-like flower spikes are tipped by orange buds, smouldering over yellow flowers.
The 70 species of kniphofia originate from southern and tropical Africa and have given rise to numerous cultivars. Between them, they bloom from early spring to late fall and vary in height from eight inches to six feet tall - making them one of the best perennials to grow. Some are frost tender but there are plenty hardy enough for colder gardens. Their narrow leaves can be bulky at ground level but recent breeding has concentrated on neater foliage, reduced height and longer flowering seasons. A natural upland habitat is reflected in their love of sun and good drainage, yet pokers thrive in fertile soils and love an improved clay as long as it drains well in winter.
Red hot pokers are a great option if you're looking for the one of the best low-maintenance, drought-tolerant plants to add your garden, and once established, they will enjoy long and characterful lives.
15 red hot poker varieties for bright color and interesting shape
We’ve selected 15 different red hot poker varieties to show the range of shapes, sizes and colors available. These do well from a summer planting, putting their roots down quickly into warm soil.
1. ‘Drummore Apricot’
- Hardiness: US hardiness zone 7 and zone 8
- Height: 30-48 inches
- Spread: two feet
Large pokers bear tight green buds at their tips, swelling to a glowing apricot shade and opening to yellow flowers from late summer into fall. Compact types are one of the best plants for small gardens and are deciduous, with strappy leaves.
Use this subtle poker with vibrant Geum ‘Mrs.J.Bradshaw’ for springy stems of red flowers at 2 feet tall, or tone the bold color down with creamy Achillea ‘Taygetea.'
'A softer, more romantic option. It works in cottage gardens or paired with grasses,' says gardening expert Valeria Nyman. Drifts of deciduous types also suit prairie planting.
2. ‘Fiery Fred’
- Hardiness: US hardiness zone 6 and zone 7
- Height: five feet
- Spread: four feet
This stately poker sends up stems bearing shapely spikes of bright and soft orange blooms, soaring well above arching dark green deciduous foliage. Plants make bold statements amongst other perennials from summer into fall. For contrast, add blue-flowering campanula varieties (lactiflora) or for a subtle touch, introduce the palest pearly blue of ’Monica’s Dream’.
These are also excellent coastal plants and will thrive in exposed seaside gardens.
3. ‘Ice Queen’
- Hardiness: US hardiness zone 7 and zone 8
- Height: four feet
- Spread: three feet
The tall flower spikes of this majestic poker have a hint of orange warmth at the tip but neatly arranged green buds open to white flowers with a tubular shape.
This makes it a perfect candidate for white-themed garden borders, or to contrast with colorful midsummer to early fall blooms. Continue the white theme with a foreground of Salvia x sylvestris ‘Schneehugel’.
4. ‘Moonstone’
- Hardiness: US hardiness zone 7 and zone 8
- Height: four feet
- Spread: three feet
A floriferous poker blessed with a long flowering period from midsummer well into the fall. 'The 'Moonstone' variation is creamy white and displays charming pale yellow flowers,' describes Tammy Sons, horticulturist and CEO of TN Nurseries.
The low, arching deciduous foliage acts as a base for strong flower spikes bearing blooms changing attractively in color from a warm orange in bud, through gold to yellow and cream when fully open. Popular indigo-flowered Salvia ‘Amistad’ would make an excellent companion plant.
Those red hot pokers with especially fiery colors are great for hot color schemes of tropical garden plants in yellow, orange, bronze, red and maroon.
5. ‘Rocket’s Red Glare’
- Hardiness: US hardiness zone seven and zone eight
- Height: three feet
- Spread: 30 inches
This is one of the Pyromania Series, whose neat, tidy grass-like foliage is an asset to the garden. The flowers of this one pack a punch, being fluorescent red, changing to warm coral tones, then to yellow and cream as they mature.
'This coloration also helps attract pollinators like bees, butterflies, and it even attracts hummingbirds,' Tammy notes.
The shapely heads mean they make good cutting garden flowers. Pick up on the yellow and add shorter, floriferous Coreopsis ‘Early Sunrise’ alongside it.
6. ‘Tawny King’
- Hardiness: US hardiness zone 7 and zone 8
- Height: five feet
- Spread: three feet
An attractive poker whose narrow deciduous leaves are joined from summer to fall by dense spikes of orange buds opening to cream flowers. Held on bronze stems, the heads create a medley of soft and dark shades in orange and apricot.
Plant alongside another drought-tolerant yard plants like the slightly lower dark-flowered African lily, perhaps sultry Agapanthus inapertus subsp.pendulus ‘Graskop’.
'I’ve seen it paired beautifully with bronze sedges or purple-leaved shrubs,' says Valeria Nyman.
7. ‘Timothy’
- Hardiness: US hardiness zone 7 and zone 8
- Height: two feet
- Spread: 18 inches
From clumps of narrow, deciduous leaves rise bronze stems topped by spikes of flowers somewhere between coral and salmon pink with a touch of orange. Opening from early summer to early fall, they bring a long season of color.
Planted alongside it, the daylily Hemerocallis ‘Stella de Oro’ will create an attractive foreground of yellow flowers, perfect for a fragrant garden.
8. ‘Wrexham Buttercup’
- Hardiness: US hardiness zone 6 and zone 7
- Height: four feet
- Spread: 18 inches
This is generally held to be the best yellow-flowered poker, although green-tipped ‘Bees’s Lemon’, new, short 'Poco Yellow' and ‘Lemon Popsicle’ are also worth investigating.
Strong stems rise between midsummer and fall, bearing spikes of lime green buds opening to yellow. Good bedfellows include orange-flowered Mexican sunflower Tithonia rotundifolia ‘Torch’ and blue-flowered Salvia patens.
9. K.caulescens
- Hardiness: US hardiness zone 7 and 8
- Height: four feet
- Spread: 30 inches
We use a lot of this evergreen species in our exotic garden border planting ideas, because in both leaf and flower it resembles an aloe.
The blue-green foliage is attractive especially after a good clean-up in spring. This is joined, from late summer into fall by stems of coral-red buds opening to lemon-yellow flowers.
These are especially attractive plants to use when growing a garden for pollinators such as bees and other nectar-loving insects.
10. K.northiae
- Hardiness: US hardiness zone 8 and zone 9
- Height: four feet
- Spread: 30 inches
These giant red hot poker varieties are another evergreen look-alike for aloe or even exotic bromeliads (urn plants). Give plants room to show off their proud rosettes of broad, strap-shaped leaves.
Chunky flower spikes of orange-red buds open to cream flowers from early to late summer. It makes a good rock garden plant or is perfect for a gravel garden.
'Fire Dance' red hot pokers (available at Burpee) have a very similar appearance.
11. K.rooperi
- Hardiness: US hardiness zone 7 and zone 8
- Height: five feet
- Spread: three feet
Rooper’s red hot poker is one of the most familiar and a common sight in established gardens, clumps of arching evergreen foliage are joined by dense, rounded spikes of flowers fiery orange in bud but maturing to yellow.
Held aloft on strong stems they reserve their performance for fall and usefully extend the flowering season alongside late summer flowers.
12. ‘Jenny Bloom’
- Hardiness: US hardiness zone eight and zone nine
- Height: three feet
- Spread: 18 inches
Although not particularly short, this elegant poker is of slim habit, with narrow, upright foliage and stems of widely spaced apricot-orange buds above flowers opening to cream from early summer to early fall.
Plant on its own in a container, or with long-flowering perennials such as the soft-yellow phlomis variety russeliana and yellow, cream and ruby-flowered Corepsis ‘Red Shift’.
13. ‘Mango Popsicle’
- Hardiness: US hardiness zone 6 and zone 7
- Height: 30 inches
- Spread: 8 inches
The Popsicle Series makes a good addition to small gardens, particularly if you have narrow borders or just a container garden. It means you can enjoy red hot pokers without having to accommodate wide clumps of often quite wayward foliage.
Neat upright grass-like leaves are joined by flower spikes in a range of colors, here an almost fluorescent mango from summer to fall.
You can also find other yellow varieties of red hot poker at Amazon.
14. ‘Orange Vanilla Popsicle’
- Hardiness: US hardiness zone six and zone seven
- Height: 30 inches
- Spread: 30 inches
Best described as tricolored miniature red hot poker, the tightest buds are a dark maroon, they swell to a glowing orange-pink and open creamy white. Neat and well-behaved they are perfect for container garden beginners.
Needing well-drained compost where they will open blooms from early summer through to fall. Add burnt orange, narrow-petalled types of helenium like ‘Loysder Wieck’.
15. Poco Red
- Hardiness: US hardiness zone 6 and zone 7
- Height: 30 inches
- Spread: 30 inches
From the Poco Series, expect a clump of stiff, upright grass-like foliage attractive in its own right. Spikes of reddish-orange flowers open from midsummer well into fall.
Poco Orange, Poco Yellow, Poco Citron and Poco Sunset are worth exploring too. They look great on their own in a container, fit well into your narrow, long garden ideas or to make low swathes of vibrant color.
These uvaria seeds from Amazon would give you the same vibrant red look.
FAQs
Do red hot pokers spread?
Some red hot poker varieties do spread rapidly through rhizomes underground. This is one way to propagate red hot pokers: dig up the rhizomes and divide the plant before planting into separate pots.
No matter which of these stunning red hot poker variety you choose to grow in your yard, make sure to keep on top of essential care - like pruning red hot pokers to remove lower leaves and deadheading wilted blooms.
