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Hot and Cold Red Hot Poker - Bare Root Plant

$18.30
$18.30 $34.08
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Size : Bare Root Plant
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Bare root arrives dormant

Expect new growth in 6 to 8 weeks after planting. Until then it can look lifeless, so you won’t be able to tell within 24 hours of arrival whether it will grow.

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About the Product

Hot and Cold is a bicolor red hot poker with tangerine orange buds that open to creamy white flowers. The upright spikes bring drama to a sunny border, and rebloom extends the color late into the season.

It grows about 2½ to 3 feet tall and 2 to 2½ feet wide. The grassy leaves contrast well with bold-leaved perennials. It is hardy to zone 6, or zone 5b with winter protection. Hummingbirds visit often, and deer and rabbits seldom bother it.

What it looks like

Club-shaped flower spikes with tangerine orange tubular buds at the top and creamy white open florets below, giving a sharp orange-over-white bicolor effect. Spikes are held on stout, bare, upright stems above a clump of long, arching, grass-like green leaves. The plant grows about 30 to 36 inches tall in flower and 24 to 30 inches wide. At peak several two-tone torches stand above the fountain of foliage.

Growing it with lavender

Red hot poker likes the same full sun and sharp, lean drainage as lavender, and its upright spikes make a bold vertical contrast rising behind mounds of purple lavender in summer.

Care

Plant in full sun in well-drained soil, lean to average; it handles drought once established but will rot in soggy winter soil. Hardy in zones 6-9, and in colder spots a winter mulch and a sheltered, well-drained site help. Cut spent flower spikes at the base to encourage more blooms, and leave the foliage standing over winter, tidying it in spring.

At a glance

  • Botanical name: Kniphofia
  • Flower color: Tangerine orange buds opening creamy white
  • Foliage: Green
  • Growth habit: Upright clump of arching, grassy leaves
  • Mature size: 30–36 in tall × 24–30 in wide
  • USDA hardiness zones: 6–9
  • Light: full sun
  • Bloom start: Late-June
  • Peak bloom: Mid-July
  • Bloom pattern: Repeat Blooming
  • Deer resistance: Moderately resistant
  • Pollinator value: Excellent

Sizes and shipping

Dormant bare-root plant, sold in boxes of 25 per variety (order in multiples of 25). Bare-root plants ship or are picked up March 1–May 31 only. They are soil-free, so they may ship to every state in that window. Dormant plants often show little or no top growth on arrival; plant or heel them in promptly.

View Product Details
Mature height
36.0 in
Mature spread
30.0 in
Bloom
Late-June – peak Mid-July
Fragrance
None
Deer
Moderately resistant

Lavender companion · grow guide

How to grow Hot and Cold

Red Hot Poker · Kniphofia

Red hot pokers want full sun and soil that drains well, especially in winter. Wet winter soil is the main reason they fail; in good drainage they bloom for years and draw hummingbirds.

Check my zone & planting dates
Hot and Cold
  • Full sunLight
  • Low waterFast drainage
  • pH 6.0–7.5Soil
  • Zones 6a–9bHardiness
  • 36″ tall30″ wide
  • ResistantDeer · rabbits resistant
  • Not known toxicPets
Huckleberry, the farm dog

Huckleberry saysTell me where you grow and I’ll check if Hot and Cold will thrive there.

Hardy in zones 6a–9b

Spring is best in cold regions so roots establish before winter.

Dormant bare-root red hot poker (kniphofia) as it arrives, laid on burlap

When it arrives

Your bare-root plant

Arrives as a dormant crown with fleshy, rope-like roots and short leaf stubs. Soak 1–2 hours, then plant with roots spread and the crown about an inch deep. Water once and keep barely moist until leaves grow.

Expect new growth in 6 to 8 weeks after planting. Bare root ships March–May while dormant, with little or no top growth, and it can look lifeless until then. That’s normal. Grassy leaves appear from the crown in mid-spring. In cold areas the old foliage may look dead and mushy after winter; new green shoots from the center are a good sign.

You won’t be able to tell within 24 hours of arrival whether a dormant plant will grow.

When to plant

Spring is best in cold regions so roots establish before winter.

How deep

Set the crown no more than about an inch below the soil surface; deeper planting invites rot.

Spacing

18–24 inches apart.

Soil

Well-drained loam or sandy soil with organic matter · pH 6.0–7.5

Fix-it tip: Avoid heavy clay. Mix in compost and grit, or plant on a mound or slope so the crown never sits wet.

Sun

Full sun (tolerates light part shade in hot climates).

Six or more hours of sun gives the most flower spikes.

Dormant
New growth

Don’t give up on it

Is it alive? What spring looks like

Grassy leaves appear from the crown in mid-spring. In cold areas the old foliage may look dead and mushy after winter; new green shoots from the center are a good sign.

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