Kniphofia uvaria Banana Popsicle - Red Hot Poker

Kniphofia 'Banana Popsicle' is part of a series of compact Red Hot Pokers with a summer flowering period that is both generous and prolonged. This variety blooms in successive waves throughout the summer, in a very cheerful yellow shade, delicately tinged with orange. It forms a compact and low tuft of very fine shiny foliage, which remains attractive throughout the season. Its numerous dense spiked flowers are animated by the constant flight of butterflies and bees. It is a robust perennial that will bring a lot of cheerfulness to flower beds.

Kniphofia 'Banana Popsicle' belongs to the family of Asphodelaceae. This low variety is a recently obtained hybrid resulting from the cross-breeding of various species native to South and East Africa, including Kniphofia uvaria. It is a deciduous perennial with fleshy rhizomes, whose above-ground vegetation dries up in winter and reappears in spring. It forms an upright tuft, a bit tousled, with leathery, long and very fine leaves, slightly sharp, reaching 40-45 cm (16-18in) in height and 50-60 cm (20-24in) in width. The flowering is particularly long, it renews from May-June to September, rising to 60-70 cm (24-28in), well above the foliage, on stout and naked stems. The inflorescence, honey-bearing and nectar-bearing, is a dense terminal cluster 14 cm (6in) high and 6 cm (2in) wide. It consists of tubular and pendant flowers, in a bright yellow colour, fading to yellow-orange, gradually from the top to the bottom of the spike. The foliage forms a beautiful spreading clump, decorative outside of the flowering period.

Their exotic appearance already charmed our grandmothers. The new Red Hot Pokers, with their numerous brightly coloured flowers, are even more decorative. They are surprising plants, sturdy and perfect candidates for walled gardens or rustic flower beds where they light up with coloured torches.  Kniphofia 'Banana Popsicle' will integrate well into a large rockery, paired with red, blue, white or purple salvias, or with 'Anchusa azurea Loddon Royalist' with its deep blue flowers for example. We have created a small contrasting group of plants that is easy to reproduce with Penstemon Husker Red, 'Anthemis tinctoria Sauce Hollandaise' and Nepeta Purrsian Blue. Red Hot Pokers can also be planted as specimens, on a lawn, along a path by mixing the colours, or combined with small agapanthus, grasses or daylilies in harmonious colours to create an exotic scene.