Illustration
Red Hot Poker
Kniphofia
Also comes in red and yellow.
Red Hot Poker blooms from June through August.
Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.
Growing Red Hot Poker
Plant it in full sun. It prefers moderate water. It is hardy in USDA zones 5–9. Expect it to reach about 3.5 ft tall and 1.5 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 2 years (checked).
What was checked
Fifteen fields were checked against named botanical sources, each recorded beside the sources that carried it, with every unsettled point written down and decided: mature height and spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, the trait tags, soil, diseases, pests, toxicity, the plant's own names, and years to mature size, which rests on a recorded house rule where no publisher states one and is marked so. Each fact above carries its own mark. The planting, spacing and size sections are derived from these checked facts by a fixed rule, not checked separately, and the plant type is the library's own classification.
When to plant Red Hot Poker
Plant Red Hot Poker in early spring as soon as the soil is workable, or in early fall at least six weeks before your first frost, so roots establish in cool weather. In zone 7, the middle of its hardy zones 5 to 9, spring means March to May and fall means September or October. Once settled, it blooms from June to August.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 7, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 7 in March. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.
How big does Red Hot Poker get?
3.5 fttall5 ft 7 inan adult1.5 ftwideSee Red Hot Poker in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.
How far apart to plant Red Hot Poker
Derived from the mature spread above by a fixed rule, not checked separately: spacing is the spread, center to center.
Space Red Hot Poker about 1.5 ft apart, center to center, so each plant has room to reach its full width.
Add Red Hot Poker to a garden plan and the planner draws it at its full width, so you see the spacing before you buy.
Where these facts come from
Red Hot Poker's height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, years to mature size, trait tags, soil, diseases, pests and toxicity were checked against 8 published sources on August 15, 2026. Each one is linked below with every fact it carried, which can include a fact this page still marks as not yet checked, because a source carrying a value is not the same as the value being held to the standard. Facts not in that list, and the planting, spacing and size sections, are not covered by these sources.
- Missouri Botanical GardenPlant Finderheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, soil, diseases and pests
- NC State Extensiongenus pageheight, spread, hardiness zones, bloom months and color, trait tags, soil, diseases, pests and toxicity
- NC State ExtensionK. uvaria pageheight, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, years to mature size, soil, diseases and pests
- Fine GardeningRichard Hawkespread, hardiness zones, sun, bloom months and color, years to mature size, trait tags, soil and diseases
- SANBI PlantZAfricagenus overview, Kniphofia Moenchsun, water, bloom months and color, years to mature size, trait tags and toxicity
- High Country Gardensretail nursery, Kniphofia x uvaria 'Pfitzer' Mixheight, spread, hardiness zones, water, soil and pests
- Plant Delights Nurseryretail nursery genus guide to Kniphofiaheight, water and bloom months and color
- ASPCATorch Lily entrytoxicity
How the checking works, and what each standard covers, is on the verified plants page.
Good to know about Red Hot Poker
Curated from university extensions, botanic gardens and other primary sources, with the source named on every note. A note reports what its source says; where that differs from a fact above, the fact above is this entry's stored value, and its mark says whether it has been checked.
Safety
Safe around dogs, cats and horses per ASPCA, but the sap can irritate skin and eyes: wear gloves when handling and keep children from eating it. per ASPCA and University of California ANR
Worth knowing
Those tubular torch spikes evolved in South Africa to feed nectar-eating sunbirds, so the hummingbirds they draw in your garden are answering the same nectar reward. per NC State
Bloom time varies by cultivar
Sources split from May to June through midsummer into fall. It hinges on cultivar and climate, and deadheading stretches the show. Pick a cultivar to suit your season. per Missouri Botanical and Clemson
Winter wet kills it
Sharp drainage is make-or-break. Winter-wet or waterlogged soil rots the crown and roots, the single top killer. Never plant it in clay or heavy ground. per Clemson
Tie foliage over the crown
In cold zones (5 to 6), mulch the roots and tie the leaves up into a canopy over the crown so water and ice cannot settle and freeze. per NC State
Deer and rabbit resistant
Deer and rabbits both tend to leave it alone, so it holds up in gardens where browsing is a problem. per NC State
Can naturalize in mild regions
Native to South Africa, it has naturalized and turned weedy in coastal California and the Pacific Northwest. Cal-IPC gives it a Watch rating; not a risk in cold-winter zones. per Cal-IPC
What pairs well with Red Hot Poker
Good companions share its growing conditions and add something it lacks: an earlier or later bloom, a lower carpet in front, or structure through winter.
Aster
Shares full sun and moderate water; blooms in early fall as this one finishes; both offer pollinator forage, in different months; its seed heads stand through winter, for structure and the birds.
Rock Cress
Shares full sun and low to moderate water; blooms in mid spring, before this one opens; low at 4 in, to carpet the ground beneath; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter.
Sea Thrift
Shares full sun and low to moderate water; opens in mid spring and overlaps into this one's season; lower at 8 in, for the front of the border; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter.
Autumn Crocus
Shares full sun and moderate water; blooms in early fall as this one finishes; low at 6 in, to carpet the ground beneath; both offer pollinator forage, in different months.
Wisteria
Shares full sun and moderate water; blooms in mid spring, before this one opens; both offer pollinator forage, in different months; climbs to 26 ft behind it, height without the footprint.
Hyacinth
Shares full sun and moderate water; blooms in early spring, before this one opens; lower at 10 in, for the front of the border; both offer pollinator forage, in different months.
Windflower
Takes full sun to part sun and moderate water; blooms in early spring, before this one opens; low at 6 in, to carpet the ground beneath; both offer pollinator forage, in different months.
Flowering Crabapple
Shares full sun and moderate water; blooms in mid spring, before this one opens; both offer pollinator forage, in different months; taller at 20 ft, for the layer behind it.
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Drop this plant onto a 3D plan, see how it fills in, and watch your whole garden bloom across the year.