Find Your Local Florist:Everything you want to know about flowers!
What are these? My friend came across them. – Diane
Flower Shop Network Plant Expert Reply:
This is a perennial called Kniphofia (commonly known as Red Hot Poker or Torch Lily). It prefers full sun and is hardy to 10 degrees. You can plant the bulbs in the spring and they will bloom in the summer.
Hope this information is helpful. Please let me know if you need any other information.
 Globe Thistle |
Globe Thistle (Echinops ritro)
Globe Thistle is a clump-forming herbaceous perennial with coarse, prickly leaves with 1-2 ball-shaped silvery-lavender-blue or dark blue flowerheads blooming in early to late summer on rigid branching stems 24-48 inches tall. These beautiful ornamentals grow best in full sun to mostly sunny areas and attract bees and butterflies. In the garden, they will tolerate heat and are deer-resistant. They make excellent cut flowers as well as great additions to dried bouquets.
This flower IS available from your local florist*.
 Allium Bulgaricum |
Allium Bulgaricum (Nectaroscordum siculum)
This ornamental allium is easy to grow, deer-resistant, and hardy to zone 4. They thrive in sunlight and bloom in May and June. Also known as Mediterranean Bells, Sicilian Honey Lily, Ornamental Onion and Sicilian Garlic, they are native to the Mediterranean. The individual florettes begin in an upright position and gradually relax to a cluster of tricolored bells and begin to drape like a floral chandelier. They make an interesting addition to flower arrangements.
 Bat Face Cuphea |
Bat Face Cuphea (Cuphea llavea)
Also known as St. Peter’s plant, Tiny Mice and Bunny Ears, Bat Face Cuphea is a tender tropical evergreen perennial native to Mexico. Bat Face Cuphea prefer partial to full sun and its distinctive red and purple flowers blooms from March through October. Attractive to hummingbirds and bees, the plant is low maintenance, drought-tolerant and makes a great plant for pots, planters, and beds. The plants will grow 2-3 feet tall by 3 feet wide. In early summer, pinch growth off to encourage branching.
 Cat’s Whiskers |
Cat’s Whiskers (Orthosiphon stamineus)
Part of the mint family, Cat’s Whiskers are herbaceous perennial flowering plants originating in tropical East Asia. They grow up to two feel tall and three to four feet wide. The flowers have an orchid-like appearance and are white or lavender, sprouting long stamens that resemble cat’s whiskers. They attract butterflies and hummingbirds and can be harvested to use in herbal teas.
 Family Jewels Milkweed |
Family Jewels Milkweed Tree (Asclepias physocarpa)
This species of milkweed is also known as White Butterfly Weed or Swan Plant. Native to Jamaica and South America, this perennial herb can grow to over six feet and prefers full sun and well-drained soil. It is a food source for caterpillars and is a food and habitat plant for the Monarch Butterfly. The small flowers are creamy white and orchid-like, followed by translucent, inflated 2″ green balls covered with soft bristles that are the resulting seedpods. It is a fast-growing tender perennial and grows best in Zones 7-10.
 Spanish Flag |
Firecracker Vine or Spanish Flag (Mina lobata)
A tender perennial grown as an annual, this fast climber can grow 10 to 20 feet tall. The incredibly intense-colored 1.5″ blooms are reddish-orange fading to orange yellow and white flowers from mid-summer to fall. Two cultivars include Citronella (cream flowers and red buds) and Mexican Fiesta (red and yellow flowers). A member of the morning glory family, Spanish Flag can be grown in sun to partial shade and is best grown on a lattice.
 Hot Poker |
Red or Yellow Hot Poker (Kniphofia)
Red Hot Poker (Kniphofia uvaria) and Yellow Hot Poker plants are grown from bulbs, and are heat and drought tolerant. They can grow 36″ tall. This variety is ‘Sally’s Comet’ Yellow Hot Poker. Native to Africa, they are known as Torch Lilies. Upright, rocket-shaped blooms produce ample nectar during blooming and are hummingbird magnets. They must be grown in full sun and require good drainage to prevent crown rot. They may spread up to three feet wide. Hardy to zones 5-10.
This flower IS available from your local florist*.
 Liatris |
Liatris or Blazing Star (Liatris)
Hardy perennials White Liatris (Liatris spicata ‘Alba’) and Purple Blazing Star Liatris (Liatris spicata purple), are also known as Gayfeather and Button Snakeroot, and are a member of the Aster family. They bloom from the top down, which is unusual with flowering plants. Each spike is comprised of tiny flowers that are a magnet for pollinators. Ranging from 2-4′ tall, they add height to flower beds and are a popular cut flower in summer floral arrangements with a long vase life.
This flower IS available from your local florist*.
 Love-in-a-Mist |
Love-in-a-Mist (Nigella damascena)
Love-in-a-Mist is a beautiful Victorian garden annual blooming in soft shades of blue, pink, white, and lavender. Because its fern-like leaves look similar to fennel, it has also been called fennel flower. This annual herbaceous plant is in the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae), readily self-seeds, and is common in old-fashioned cottage gardens. It grows in full sun to partial shade and blooms from late spring through fall. Nigella is short-lived, so for continuous bloom, repeat sowing every four weeks. You can cut and deadhead this plant to keep it flowering longer.
This flower IS available from your local florist*.
Ask the Expert: Red Hot Pokers not blooming
My Red Hot Pokers have always bloomed by the end of June, but this year they don’t seemed to want to bloom. The foliage looks healthy and is growing very nicely. I live in Colorado and we’ve had more rain this year than in the past. Any ideas?
Thanks Cassie
Flower Shop Network Plant Expert Reply:
A water issue can cause Red Hot Poker (Kniphofia) to under perform. Lack of water when the bloom is forming is usually the culprit. However, it sounds as if you are getting enough water.
Temperature could be another factor. If your area is below normal temps or the temperatures got too high too soon, the blooming schedule would be thrown out of whack.
Lack of light can also cause insufficient or lack of blooms in Red Hot Poker. If your area has become shadier than it has been in the past, you will need to move your plants.
I’m not sure if Red Hot Poker behaves like iris, but it might. When Iris become buried too deep it will produce lovely foliage, but no blooms. So, you might check the kniphofia and see if the much and leaves have gotten to thick on top of the plant. If it has you need to lift the plant. The crown should never be planted deeper than 3 inches.
This plant blog question was brought to you by the local florists in Santa Clara.
Ask the Expert: Why is my Lily (red hot) dying on the stems only?
The leaves on this plant look just fine, but, the stems are turning brown then just dropping down and are dead in the stem only….. What am I doing wrong?
Crystal
Crystal,
Your Kniphofia (Ret Hot Poker) probably has Rhizoctonia (a soil borne fungus) or another kind of fungus. The spread of Rhizoctonia and other fungus is caused by poor watering practices. Water your Kniphofia in the morning if possible and you may need to cut back the water. You want to keep your plants moist but not soggy.
Remove all parts of the plant that are infected. You can trim the stems completely down to the ground. Between each cut, dip your pruner in a solution of bleach water to prevent the spread of the disease. Solution should be 1part bleach to 3 parts water. If the plants are in a container remove all the soil and re-pot in new soil after you have clean the container with bleach water.
You will need to treat your Kniphofia with a fungicide. I recommend a systemic fungicide with the active ingredient propiconazole. Fertilome liquid systemic fungicide is one I often use, but there are other brands that contain the same chemical. Your local garden center should carry a fungicide that will work for you.
Jamie
Ask the Expert: Red Hot Poker or Weed?
I bought a packet of Red Hot Poker seeds last year and planted them in fresh clean compost in a greenhouse around last July. The packet says Tritoma Mixed Hybrids. They appeared slowly, taking around 6 weeks to germinate and by winter, they were still only about 2 or 3 inches tall. By March this year they were about 5 inches tall. The photos shown were taken last month, they were about 8 to 10 inches tall. (They are now about 12 to 16 inches and still no flower)
They don’t look like Red Hot Pokers to me and some people have said “pull ’em up, they’re weeds”, suggesting they are Willowherb. I have to admit they do bear a resemblance but I’m not convinced they’re weeds. Surely weeds wouldn’t take over nine months to grow this tall? Surely weeds would have flowered by now?
Any ideas?
