Red Hot Poker

Red Hot Poker 'Poco Red' (Kniphofia 'Poco Red') gives you the classic torch shaped spike at a size a small garden can use. It reaches only about 45cm tall and 40cm wide, a fraction of the standard kniphofia, so it belongs at the front of a bed. The spikes open red at the tip and orange below, and honeyeaters work them from the first flower.

Why you'll love it

• Dwarf, not just short. At 45cm by 40cm this is genuinely compact, where older red hot pokers push well past a metre and dominate everything near them.
• Two tone spikes. Each spike carries red buds above open orange florets, so a single flower head shows both colours at once.
• Made for dry, hot, exposed sites. Drought tolerant, heat tolerant, frost hardy and salt tolerant, covering coastal fronts, gravel gardens and inland blocks.
• Reliable bird and bee plant. The nectar in each tubular floret brings in honeyeaters, bees and butterflies through the flowering season.

Where it works best

Borders and edging. Plant 40cm apart in a single line for a low band of foliage with spikes standing clear above it, short enough to sit in front of taller perennials.

Mass planting. A drift of nine or more on a 40cm grid gives a solid block of red and orange. Irregular edges look better than a neat rectangle.

Rockeries, pots and coastal gardens. Sharp drainage in a rockery pocket is close to ideal. In a container use a pot 300mm or wider in full sun.

Growing Red Hot Poker 'Poco Red' in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun all day for the heaviest flowering. It suits warm temperate, cool temperate, Mediterranean and arid to semi-arid gardens, so Adelaide, Perth and the southern tablelands all work. Being frost hardy, cold winters are not the limit. High humidity is.

Soil. Free draining above everything else. Sandy, gravelly or stony ground suits it. On heavy clay, mound the bed at least 200mm and work coarse grit through, because a crown sitting in wet winter soil is what kills it.

Water and feed. Water weekly through the first summer while the roots establish, then only in a long dry spell. One light feed of complete slow release fertiliser in early spring is plenty, since rich soil produces leaf instead of spikes.

Pruning. Cut spent flower stems off at the base as they finish, which keeps the plant tidy and encourages further spikes. At the end of winter, shear the old foliage back above the crown.

What to expect when it arrives

Poco Red 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 economical way to buy the numbers a border needs. Expect the first real spikes in the second season, while many 140mm plants flower in their first summer.

Kniphofia handles freight well because the leaves are thick and fibrous, so creased tips on arrival are cosmetic and grow out. Plant into free draining ground, water in, and resist the urge to keep watering. Delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95, under our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Planning a waterwise garden
• Browse drought tolerant plants
• Plants that suit rockeries and gravel gardens
• Poco Citron, the lemon yellow form

Common questions

How is it different from a normal red hot poker?

Size, mostly. Standard kniphofias run past a metre tall and take serious room, while Poco Red holds at about 45cm high and 40cm wide. The flower shape and bird appeal are the same.

Does it need full sun?

Yes, for a good display. It will survive in part shade but the spikes are fewer and the foliage sprawls. In a bed that only gets morning sun, expect roughly half the flowering.

Why did my plant rot over winter?

Almost always drainage. The crown cannot sit in cold saturated soil, and clay beds are the usual culprit. Replant on a raised mound with grit through the soil and pull mulch back from the base.