Mango Mimosa is an early-flowering red hot poker with copper orange torches that open from dark buds. It blooms up to two weeks before standard types and keeps going with good rebloom into late summer.
It is slightly shorter than its yellow sister, at about 30 to 32 inches tall and 2 feet wide, with wide, grassy leaves. Use it as an upright accent in a sunny border or cut the spikes for bouquets. Hummingbirds love it, and deer and rabbits seldom bother it.
What it looks like
Dense, club-shaped spikes of drooping tubular florets in copper orange, opening from darker buds at the tips so each spike shows a gradient of color. Spikes are held on stout, bare stems above a clump of long, arching, grass-like mid-green leaves that are wider than usual. The plant reaches about 30 to 32 inches tall in flower and 20 to 24 inches wide. At peak several copper-orange torches rise together above the 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
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Botanical name: Kniphofia
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Flower color: Copper orange from dark buds
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Foliage: Mid-green
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Growth habit: Upright clump of arching, grassy leaves
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Mature size: 30–32 in tall × 20–24 in wide
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USDA hardiness zones: 6–9
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Light: full sun
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Bloom start: Mid-June
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Peak bloom: Early-July
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Bloom pattern: Repeat Blooming
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Deer resistance: Moderately resistant
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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.
Lavender companion · grow guide
Community Grower Report
