Kniphofia Safranvogel’ x ‘Maid of Orleans at Digging Dog Nursery |

Kniphofia
‘Safranvogel’ x ‘Maid of Orleans’
at Digging Dog

Torch Lily or Red Hot Poker

“Red Hot Poker” is the local nickname for these bold, handsome natives of Madagascar and tropical South Africa. Brought to England in 1707, they were kept as greenhouse treasures until 1848, when someone had the bright idea of planting them outdoors, and their abiding hardiness was discovered.

The old-fashioned orange and yellow form has survived years of neglect in abandoned gardens here on the coast; the new hybrids and species we offer, in versatile creamy yellows, chartreuses, soft melons and bolder colors, are more suitable to modern schemes, but are just as hardy and reliable. The thick, almost succulent leaf blades are evergreen, and of interest even when the cylindrical flower spikes are absent. Heat and drought tolerant.

Kniphofia ‘Safranvogel’ x ‘Maid of Orleans’

We have British Kniphofia aficionado, Bob Brown of Cotswald Garden Flowers to thank for this ethereal beauty. Staged on lithe bronzed stems, the distinctive flowers feature widely spaced, rich reddish coral florets, each narrow, pendulous tube tinged yellow at the base and curved up at the tips.

The aging long, slender blooms lighten and become even more open, attaining an unmatched delicacy and lovely subtle coloration that’s reminiscent of its ‘Safranvogel’ heritage. Quiet, sublime and almost other-worldly, this unusual cross is shown to best effect when planted in multiples against a dark background.

Blooms July–August.

Size: 2' high x 15" wide; hardy to zone 7.