Do red hot poker plants like sun or shade?
Red hot poker prefers a site with full sun and well-draining soil. When growing red hot poker, plant in spring when all danger of frost is past. Follow these steps, spacing plants 1-3 feet apart, depending on the variety: loosen soil in the planting area. Overwinter potted red-hot poker plants at cool temperatures of 5 to 10 °c in a light to semi-shaded spot. They will tolerate light night frosts. Discover some winter-hardy perennials to adorn your garden year around in our separate article.Red hot poker prefers a site with full sun and well-draining soil. When growing red hot poker, plant in spring when all danger of frost is past. Follow these steps, spacing plants 1-3 feet apart, depending on the variety: Loosen soil in the planting area.Red hot pokers have few disease problems other than the crown rotting in wet soils. Deer and rabbits seem to avoid the plants and few insect pests bother them. Alcazar Red Hot Poker is a beautiful long-blooming perennial.Red hot poker plants thrive in USDA Zones 5 through 9, though they will need heavy mulch in colder areas like Zone 5. The best time to plant is in spring or early fall when temperatures are mild.
Should red-hot pokers be cut back for winter?
Red Hot Poker only needs to be cut back to the ground at the beginning of its growing season in early spring, keeping the cold-hardy crown even more protected through the winter. Red Hot Poker (Kniphofia spp. Able to overwinter in temperatures down to -30°F, in growing zones 5-9, the grass-like leaves of Red Hot Poker will die back to the ground in colder climates.Red Hot Poker is a rhizomatous plant, spreading in clumps from rhizomes beneath the soil. For this reason, you can plant individual plants 2-3 feet apart, giving them plenty of space to grow without encroaching on others.Blooming Season: Red Hot Pokers have a wide range of flowering times. They bloom from late spring to early fall, depending on the varieties. If you are a fan of Kniphofias, you may want to select different varieties to extend the pleasure of admiring their lovely blooms from May through October!Red Hot Poker is a rhizomatous plant, spreading in clumps from rhizomes beneath the soil. For this reason, you can plant individual plants 2-3 feet apart, giving them plenty of space to grow without encroaching on others.
Do red-hot pokers come back every year?
Red Hot Poker (Kniphofia spp. Able to overwinter in temperatures down to -30°F, in growing zones 5-9, the grass-like leaves of Red Hot Poker will die back to the ground in colder climates. Because this plant is so easy to grow and care for, it may come as a surprise that several pests can afflict Red Hot Poker. The two main pests are aphids and gastropods (slugs and snails).
What to plant next to red-hot pokers?
Tall perennials like ornamental grasses, false indigo, coneflowers, and dahlia thrive in the same conditions as red hot poker and make a nice backdrop for smaller cultivars. Sedums, ice plant, and sempervivum can be grown as a ground cover to suppress weeds and cool the soil around red hot poker. Deadheading old flower spikes can help encourage additional flower production. Red Hot Poker only needs to be cut back to the ground at the beginning of its growing season in early spring, keeping the cold-hardy crown even more protected through the winter.