Torch Lily, Red Hot Poker or Poker Plants are an old-fashioned favorite, that have undergone extensive breeding over the years.
Resulting in hardier, compact plants with many different flower colors, that are better suited for todays smaller gardens.
Flower colors can range from cream, yellow and coral, to the two-toned yellow and coral red forms that are most familiar.
Blooming times vary from summer to mid autumn.
The flowers are borne on tall erect scapes that are topped with crowded, tapering racemes or "pokers" of drooping, 1-2 inch tubular flowers.
Most are bright red when in bud, then maturing to yellow or orange, with the lower buds opening first, and the upper ones in
succession over a long period of time.
Their bold foliage forms tufted clumps of arching, sword-shaped, grassy leaves about 3 feet long that is
sometimes evergreen in the milder climates. The leaves are about 1 inch wide, and are often keeled and
abrasive along their margins.
Hot Pokers can be used in perennial beds and borders, planted among shrubs, in your flower or cutting gardens,
or as a accent plant. Once established, they resent disturbance and only require infrequent division.
