Red Hot Poker

Red Hot Poker 'Poco Citron' (Kniphofia 'Poco Citron') gives you the classic torch spike without the metre wide clump. It sits at about 50cm tall and 40cm across, small enough for a front border or a courtyard pot, and it repeat flowers through the warm months. The spikes open a clean lemon yellow, and honeyeaters find them within days.

Why you'll love it

• It flowers again, not once. Cut each spent spike at the base and the clump pushes another flush, right through the warm months.
• Small enough for the front row. At 50cm by 40cm it stays in scale with an edging strip, a rockery pocket or a 300mm pot.
• Properly tough. Frost hardy, drought tolerant, heat tolerant and comfortable with coastal salt, so it holds up where softer perennials give out.
• Birds and pollinators work it. Each spike is a stack of nectar filled tubes, which brings in honeyeaters, bees and butterflies.

Where it works best

Borders and edging. Plant 40cm apart in a single line for a continuous ribbon of foliage with spikes standing above it.

Mass planting. Groups of nine or more on a 40cm grid read as one drift of colour. Odd numbers look more natural than a rectangle.

Pots, rockeries and coastal gardens. A pot 300mm or wider suits the roots. In a rockery it wants the free draining pocket, not the low point where water sits.

Growing Red Hot Poker 'Poco Citron' in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun all day for the heaviest flowering. It suits subtropical, warm temperate, cool temperate and Mediterranean gardens, and being frost hardy it handles cold southern and tableland winters. Give it airflow in humid gardens.

Soil. Drainage matters more than fertility. Sandy or gravelly ground is ideal. On heavy clay, mound the bed 200mm and work coarse grit through it, because a crown sitting in cold wet soil will rot.

Water and feed. Water weekly through the first summer, then only in extended dry spells. A light feed of complete slow release fertiliser in early spring is enough, since rich soil gives leaf at the expense of spikes.

Pruning. Cut each finished spike back at the base to trigger the next flush. At the end of winter, shear tired foliage to a hand's width above the crown.

What to expect when it arrives

This one is grown in two sizes: tube stock, and 140mm pots sold in packs of ten. Tube stock arrives as a small fan of strappy leaves under 20cm, the sensible choice for a long border where you need numbers. Expect the first proper spikes in the second season, while many 140mm plants flower in their first summer.

Kniphofia travels well, since the leaves are thick and fibrous, so creased tips on arrival are cosmetic and grow out. Delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95 and a minimum order of $300 before delivery, and every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Low growing plant ideas for garden borders
• Browse plants suited to rockeries
• Compare bird attracting plants
• Poco Red, the same plant in red and orange

Common questions

How far apart should I plant it?

Forty centimetres apart, whether you are running a single edging line or a drift. That lets each clump reach full width without the crowns pushing into each other, which is where rot starts.

How long does it flower for?

Individual spikes hold for two to three weeks, and deadheading brings on the next round through the warmer months. Flowering is heaviest in full sun.

Will it survive frost?

Yes. It is frost hardy and suits cool temperate gardens, including tableland and inland districts. The risk in cold areas is wet winter soil rather than frost itself.