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Poker plant

Kniphofia

Also called Red hot poker, Torch lily, Vascular Plants, Tracheophytes

Poker plant — Photo: yakovlev.alexey from Moscow, Russia, CC BY-SA 2.0

Kniphofia is a genus of perennial flowering plants from Africa, with brightly coloured spikes of tubular flowers held above the foliage, grown widely as garden plants for their architectural form. Most garden types need full sun and well-drained soil.

Grows as: Perennial
Light: Full sun
Water: Water deeply during dry spells once established; keep soil from staying waterlogged, especially in winter.
Soil: Free-draining, fertile garden soil or loam.
Temperature: Hardy in many temperate zones, roughly to -15 °C for common garden species; protect evergreen types below about -5 °C.
How easy: Easy
Safety: Not toxic to cats or dogs (ASPCA).

About

Kniphofia (, , ) is a genus of perennial flowering plants in the family Asphodelaceae, first described as a genus in 1794. All species of Kniphofia are native to Africa. Common names include tritoma, red hot poker, torch lily and poker plant.

How to grow it

Several species of Kniphofia are cultivated as garden plants, valued for their architectural properties. These include K. galpini, K. northiae, K. rooperi and K. thomsonii.

In addition to the species, many named cultivars of mixed or uncertain parentage have been selected for garden use. The following have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit:

Other Kniphofia plants

Dwarf Salmon Poker · Broad Leafed Poker · Winter Poker · Alpine Poker · Eswatini Poker · Redhot poker

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Kniphofia by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Pet safety from the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists.

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Know any plant.Grow it well.