Family: Asphodelaceae
Common name: Red hot poker, Torch lily, Poker plant, Torch flower, African flame flower, Devil’s poker, Tritomea
Red hot poker plants are a very interesting addition to gardens because of their vibrant, double-hued flower spikes that look like they are burning. These plants are native to South Africa and are very commonly found in regions with temperate climates.
Plant characteristics
Red hot poker plants grow as dense clumps that can reach a height of 80-150 cm and a spread of about 90 cm. Normally, the plant does not have any stem since the leaves directly arise from the base of the plant.
The flowering stems also called scapes are thick, upright, and sturdy enough to bear the weight of the flowers. They are unbranched, growing to a height of 1-1.5 meters. Leaves are dense, erect, long and narrow, about 80-100 cm long and 2-3 cm wide.
Flowers of the Red hot poker plant are quite a marvel – long, tubular flowers arranged densely on top of the flower stem, making them look like red hot pokers.
The flowers bloom from bottom up, the older flowers turning yellow as they mature, giving the inflorescence a double color, red at the top and yellow at the bottom.
Each flowering spike can have hundreds of individual flowers, each each less than a centimeter in diameter. The flowers period is from late spring to early fall, filling your garden with flaming red bunches of flowers.
Red hot poker flowers attract bees, insects, and butterflies with their brightly colored, droopy flowers. Post pollination, they produce small capsules that contain many tiny black seeds. Seeds are very light aiding in wind propagation.
Gardening Tips
Red hot poker plants prefer bright, direct sunlight for 5-6 hours a day. They prefer well-draining soil but they can tolerate a range of soil types. Water young plants regularly till they are established in the soil. After that, they only need watering when the soil is completely dry.
Mulching or covering the top soil with plant material can prevent the soil from drying out quickly.
Deadheading spent flowers can keep the plant pretty, and also help them focus on producing more blooms. They are relatively pest-tolerant though slugs can make a meal of the succulent leaves.
There are many cultivars in a range of flower colors like Red hot popsicle with bright red flowers, Mango popsicle with orange flowers, Ice queen with lime-yellow flowers, Lady luck with tall white flowers and so on.
Uses of Red hot poker
These plants are mostly grown as ornamentals in home gardens and parks. Red hot poker plants can also be grown in butterfly parks to attract butterflies with their big, bright flowers.
In some places, these plants have escaped cultivation and are growing in the wild. Their thick rhizomatous root structure helps the plant to spread quickly, thus helping prevent soil erosion.
Propagation
Propagation is through seeds and root division, both very effective. Red hot poker plants produce abundant seeds, which can be sown in moist, well-drained soil in early spring.
They can also be propagated easily by dividing large clumps of plants, gently separating them into small clumps. This can also help prevent over-crowding of plants.
Photographed at: KEW gardens, London
