Kniphofia uvaria Lemon Popsicle - Red Hot Poker

Kniphofia 'Lemon Popsicle' is one of the latest additions to a series of small-sized Red Hot Pokers, known for their generous and perennial flowering. This excellent variety blooms throughout the summer, in successive waves, in a very bright lemon yellow and acid green colour. It forms a compact and low clump of very fine, grassy, shiny foliage that remains attractive throughout the season. Its numerous inflorescences, carried on long stems, emerge as dense clusters of small pendulous bell-shaped flowers, attracting butterflies and bees. It is a robust and cheerful perennial, low in water consumption, to be placed in full sun, in well-drained soil.

Kniphofia 'Lemon 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 Southern and Eastern Africa, including Kniphofia uvaria. It is a deciduous perennial with fleshy rhizomes, with aerial vegetation drying out in winter and reappearing in spring. It forms an upright, slightly tousled clump with tough, long, and very thin leaves, slightly sharp, reaching 45 cm (18in) in height and 50-60 cm (20-24in) in width. The flowering period is particularly long, occurring from May-June to September, reaching a height of 60-70 cm (24-28in), well above the foliage, on bare stems. The flowers, rich in nectar and honey, are dense terminal clusters measuring 14 cm (6in) in height and 6 cm (2in) in width. It consists of tubular and pendulous flowers, starting out in an acid green colour and quickly evolving to a bright and light yellow, from top to bottom of the spike. The foliage forms a beautiful, spreading bunch, decorative even outside of the flowering period.

Their exotic appearance already charmed our grandmothers. The new Kniphofias, with their numerous vividly coloured flowers, are even more decorative. They are surprising plants, yet very sturdy, perfect candidates for cottage gardens or wildflower beds where they light up with coloured torches. Kniphofia 'Lemon Popsicle' will fit well in a large rockery, paired with magenta red or white hollyhocks, blue, white or purple salvias, or Anchusa azurea 'Loddon Royalist' with deep blue flowers, for example. We have designed a small contrasting scene that is easy to reproduce with Penstemon Husker Red, 'Anthemis tinctoria Sauce Hollandaise', and Nepeta Purrsian Blue. Tritomas can also be planted individually on a lawn, along a pathway by mixing the colours, or combined with small agapanthus, grasses, or dwarf cannas to create an exotic look.