Orange Blaze is one of the most compact red hot pokers, with bright orange flowers packed densely onto spikes that are well scaled to the plant. It reblooms, carrying color late into the season.
It grows about 2 to 2½ feet tall and 1½ to 2 feet wide, a good fit for smaller sunny borders and the front of larger ones. The grassy leaves contrast nicely with bold-leaved perennials. Hummingbirds visit often, and deer and rabbits seldom bother it.
What it looks like
Short, dense, club-shaped flower spikes packed with bright orange tubular florets, held on stout, bare stems just above the foliage. Leaves are long, narrow, arching and grass-like in green. The plant forms a compact, upright clump about 24 to 30 inches tall in flower and 18 to 24 inches wide. Several spikes open at once and are in proportion to the leafy base. At peak the clump is crowned with a cluster of vivid orange torches.
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: Bright orange
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Foliage: Green
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Growth habit: Compact, upright clump
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Mature size: 24–30 in tall × 18–24 in wide
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USDA hardiness zones: 6–9
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Light: full sun
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Bloom start: Late-June
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Peak bloom: Mid-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.