cultivars 295

Cultivars

In this chapter I focus on cultivars, including named selections of species that have been in cultivation in the last 20 years. While around 1,000 cultivars of Kniphofia have been named over the years (see Checklist of epithets, pp354–417, for a complete list), only a small proportion of these are in cultivation today. The starting point for the cultivars in this chapter is those that have appeared in the RHS Plant Finder, which gives a good overview of cultivars available in the UK and Europe. To this I have added some of the more significant cultivars that have appeared beyond Europe, particularly in North America. I also hope that the information I have provided on early and widely misidentified cultivars will help correct some of the wrong attribution of their names.

RaiseR and intRoduceRFor each entry I have tried to give an indication of by whom and when the cultivar was introduced, by citing a name and date. The names given are mostly for the person who raised, or nursery that introduced, the plant. In some cases, where information is lacking, it is simply the author of its first published mention.

The sequence of introduction can be complicated, often with different individuals being involved in the initial cross, selection, licensing and introduction. It has not been practical to cite every individual involved in bringing a cultivar into existence. Therefore I have cited what I deem to be the most significant agency, whether nursery or individual.

In the Checklist (pp354–417) I have tried to give more detailed information, such as full names of persons and nursery locations. In some cases I will have overlooked, or not been aware of, some people whose great efforts have been credited to someone else, for which I apologise.

date The dates attributed to the cultivar are the earliest confirmed date for the cultivar being in existence. The circumstance of the date will vary between the cultivars, depending upon the information available. For example, it might be the date it was hybridised, the date it was first listed in a nursery catalogue or other publication, or the date that a patent or plant breeders’ rights was applied for. The period between date of hybridising and date of availability to the public can be as much as 10 years.

A selection of Kniphofia cultivars from the 2007–09 RHS trial. Photographed in mid July, it shows the diverse range of colours available at that time of year

top row, left to right'Ample Dwarf', 'Jonathan', 'Dorset Sentry'

Middle row, left to right 'Amsterdam', 'Moonstone', 'Tawny King', 'Red Admiral', 'Apricot Sky', 'Jane Henry'

BottoM row, left to right 'Bressingham Sunbeam', 'Timothy', 'Rich Echoes', 'Firefly', 'Minister Verschuur', 'Safranvogel', 'Royal Standard'

296 cultivars

At the Dell Garden in Bressingham Gardens, Norfolk, Kniphofia ‘Elvira’ makes a vibrant patch of colour. This is one of the longest flowering cultivars because the flowers lack stamens and are sterile

cultivars 297

FloweRing peRiodThe flowering period given is for when individual flowers on the spikes are open. Some cultivars are one-hit wonders; they produce a magnificent display with all the flowers opening within a short space of time, but it is all over in a couple of weeks. Kniphofia ‘Atlanta’ is a great example of this, heralding the start of the poker flowering season in early June but then becoming a disappointing rosette of leaves for the rest of the year. Many newer cultivars have been raised to try and overcome this short season but there will often still be a peak, or possibly more than one peak, with only the odd spike appearing in between.

Pinpointing flowering time is further complicated by plants often starting with just a few flowers open on their spikes, so they will take a week or so before they start to look good. The larger, taller spikes will also carry on opening flowers long after they look their best. So, although the given flowering period may indicate that the plant is still in flower in November, it probably was going past its best in October. Brackets are used to indicate extremes of flowering times when these are known.

Cultivars that flower very early or late in the season may be highly dependent on frost; the buds may start to form but if frosted they will abort and there may be no flowers that year at all. Some of the winter-flowering cultivars are only suitable for frost-free zones, so although they might survive in colder climates they will rarely flower in frost-prone areas.

colouR gRoupingI have attempted to group the cultivars together by colour to help with identification or selection for garden use. In a genus where colour variation is almost continuous this is naturally going to be subjective. For example, placing an orange-red cultivar in the orange-flowered or red-flowered section is somewhat subjective. Therefore, the table (pp298–301) should be used to find a cultivar if it does not appear under the expected colour section. Colour reference codes (e.g. 154C) are derived from the RHS Colour Chart.

Seed strains and series, which all contain cultivars of different colours, are included under Mixed colours at the end. However, the individual cultivars within each series can be found under the relevant colour section.

Series are convenient marketing tools to group together similar cultivars. Usually the cultivars involved will have originated from the same breeding programme, but this does not have to be the case. A series name can just be a recognised stamp of quality from a particular breeder, and any suitable cultivar could be included within that series. Their usefulness in classification is limited, as cultivars within a series can vary quite significantly in their attributes and garden worthiness.

I have described the four series that I am aware of as they contain cultivars that are frequently encountered in nurseries and catalogues and they represent significant breeding programmes.

dimensionsFor each cultivar I have given dimensions where possible. These are taken from published descriptions, RHS trial records, and my own measurements. Since not all published descriptions give all the dimensions, this information is missing in some cases, and I have certainly not seen every cultivar in this chapter. H = Height in cmS = Size of flowerhead (length × diameter) in cmL = Length of flower (corolla) in mmF = Flowering period (1 = January, 12 = December)Brackets are used to indicate extremes of a range.

otheR chaRacteRisticsSome cultivars have particularly narrow leaves, less than 1cm wide, and I have termed these ‘grass-leaved’ in the descriptions and table. This character is favoured by some gardeners because the foliage is often neater.

Cultivars with the RHS Award of Garden Merit (AGM) are indicated in the table and descriptions, with hardiness rating. The AGM is given to plants considered excellent for ordinary use in appropriate conditions. Kniphofias with the AGM were revised in the 2007–09 RHS trial (Whitehouse 2010) and the award is currently held by 23 cultivars and two species (K. northiae and K. rooperi).

cultivars 299298 cultivars

Colour of Kniphofia cultivars, including AGM and whether grass-leaved agm & hardiness rating

grass-leaved

‘ada’ uniform orange

‘alcazar’ uniform red or orange-red

‘amazing Fun’ orange or red, and white or cream

‘ample dwarf’ Yellow and white

‘amsterdam’ uniform red or orange-red

‘apple court’ pink and white

‘apricot souffle’ orange or red, and white or cream

‘apricot’ uniform orange

‘apricots and cream’ orange or red, and white or cream

‘atlanta’ (tuckii group) orange or red, and white or cream

‘Banana popsicle’ (popsicle series) uniform yellow

‘Barbie’ Red or orange, and yellow

‘Barton Fever’ h6 Brownish orange and white

‘Bee’s gold’ uniform yellow

‘Bees’ Flame’ uniform red or orange-red

‘Bees’ Jubilee’ uniform orange

‘Bees’ lemon’ green and yellow

‘Bees’ sunset’ h5 uniform orange

‘Bicolor’ orange or red, and white or cream

‘Bitter chocolate’ Brownish orange and white

‘Bob’s choice’ uniform yellow

‘Border Ballet’ mixed colours, seed-raised cultivars

‘Bressingham comet’ Red or orange, and yellow

‘Bressingham gleam’ uniform orange

‘Bressingham sunbeam’ uniform orange

‘Brimstone’ Bloom h5 green and yellow

‘Bronze torch’ uniform yellow

‘Buttercup’ h5 uniform yellow

‘c.m. prichard’ uniform yellow

‘candlelight’ uniform yellow

‘carole’s crush’ uniform red or orange-red

‘catherine’s orange’ uniform orange

K. caulescens ‘coral Breakers’ orange or red, and white or cream

K. caulescens ‘John may’ Red or orange, and yellow

K. caulescens ‘oxford Blue’ Red or orange, and yellow

‘chichi’ uniform red or orange-red

‘cobra’ Brownish orange and white

‘coolknip’ Yellow and white

‘coral Flame’ h5 uniform red or orange-red

‘coral sceptre’ uniform pink to pinkish orange

‘creamsicle’ (popsicle series) uniform orange

‘dawn sunkiss’ pink and white

‘dawn’ pink and white

cultivaragm

colour

grass-leaved cultivaragm colour

grass-leaved

‘dingaan’ uniform yellow

‘dorset sentry’ uniform yellow

‘drummore apricot’ uniform orange

‘early Buttercup’ uniform yellow

‘echo duo’ (echo series) Brownish orange and white

‘echo mango’ (echo series) uniform orange

‘echo Rojo’ (echo series) uniform red or orange-red

‘elvira’ uniform orange

Ember Glow (‘tneg’) (glow series) uniform orange

‘erecta’ uniform red or orange-red

‘ernest mitchell’ uniform yellow

‘False maid’ uniform yellow

‘Feuerkerze’ Red or orange, and yellow

‘Fiery Fred’ h6 uniform orange

‘Firefly’ uniform orange

Fire Glow (‘tnfg’) (glow series) uniform red or orange-red

‘First sunrise’ uniform orange

‘Flamenco’ mixed colours, seed-raised cultivars

‘Frances Victoria’ Red or orange, and yellow

‘gladness’ uniform orange

glaucescens group Red or orange, and yellow

‘goldelse’ uniform yellow

‘goldfinch’ green and yellow

grandiflora group Red or orange, and yellow

‘green Jade’ green and white

‘h.e. Beale’ uniform yellow

‘h.g. mills’ uniform red or orange-red

‘hen and chickens’ Brownish orange and white

K. hirsuta ‘traffic lights’ Red or orange, and yellow

‘hollard’s gold’ Red or orange, and yellow

‘ice Queen’ green and white

‘incandesce’ h5 uniform red or orange-red

‘ingénue’ pink and white

‘innocence’ h4 Brownish orange and white

‘Jabulani’ uniform yellow

‘Jane henry’ orange or red, and white or cream

‘Jenny Bloom’ pink and white

‘Jess’s delight’ orange or red, and white or cream

‘John Benary’ uniform red or orange-red

‘John’s olympic torch’ Brownish orange and white

‘Jonathan’ h5 uniform red or orange-red

‘lemon ice’ Yellow and white

‘lemon popsicle’ (popsicle series) uniform yellow

cultivars 303302 cultivars

Red or orange, and yellow

K. caulescens ‘John May’ with its broad leaves this is similar to ‘coral Breakers’, but it is later flowering and has pinkish (179B) buds and yellower flowers.May, 1996h 90–120 s: 22–24 × 7–8 l: 22–25 f: 9–11

K. caulescens ‘Oxford Blue’ with thick, procumbent stems, this cultivar has striking blue-grey foliage, actually closer to the colour sometimes referred to as cambridge blue. the flowers are a richer yellow and red than most selections of K. caulescens.

it was collected from the wild in the late 1960s by Burras and Vosa (collection number B&V 67) and was grown for many years at the university of oxford Botanic garden. it had been passed around for decades, but its qualities were subsequently recognised by plantsman John grimshaw and it was recently named.desirable plants, 2013h: 120

‘Feuerkerze’ this is a hybrid between ‘express’ and ‘the cardinal’ that produces flowerheads of red and yellow. however, many recent references wrongly state that it is uniformly orange-red, as in the plant pictured.weinreich, 1951h: 60–70 f: 7–9

‘Bressingham Comet’ this is a fine, dwarf, grass-leaved poker with bright reddish orange (169a) pendulous buds opening to yellow (5c) on small flowerheads. For a grass-leaved poker it is surprisingly tough and the colours are bright enough to shine out even though the flowerheads do not get much above the leaves. this is probably the most widely grown of the dwarf pokers raised by alan Bloom that are still available.Bloom, 1963h: 60–80 s: 11–18 × 4 l: 25–30 f: 8–11

‘Barbie’the most interesting feature of this cultivar is that the flowers are predominantly yellow but tipped orange. Resembling ‘nobilis’, it is a tall cultivar with large rounded flowerheads. it was originally listed as ‘olympic torch’ but that name fell foul of the over-zealous protection of trademarks for the london 2012 olympics.cotswold garden flowers, 2009h: 170 f: 7–9

‘Frances Victoria’ this very late-flowering poker produces strong, narrow but dense spikes of pale yellow (8c) flowers from buds that start off greenish (154c) but turn a warm orange colour (31a).

in the 2007–09 Rhs trial it was one of the last in the season to produce a flower display but consequently stood out dramatically above the sea of green leaves of all the other cultivars in late october.cotswold garden flowers, 2000h: 120–140 s: 17–21 × 4–5 l: 26–28 f: 10–11

cultivars 325324 cultivars

‘Bronze Torch’ this is immediately recognisable from its well-spaced, spreading, boat-shaped buds. these are bronzy yellow (162a), maturing to a rather dull, greenish yellow (15a). the buds, which remain spreading throughout the life of the flower, do not open fully; only the style escapes from the end and the flowers lack anthers.

originally named ‘torchlight’ by its us raisers, it was accidentally introduced to europe as ‘gilt Bronze’. however, ‘gilt Bronze’ is a cultivar with dark, bronzed stems and pale yellow flowers that open normally. ‘torchlight’ is an unacceptable name too, as it has been used twice before for different cultivars. the name is therefore changed here to ‘Bronze torch’, keeping elements of both names under which it has been known.Morning glory farms, 1990h: 80–100 s: 13–17 × 5–6 l: 20–25 f: 6–8(–10)

‘Buttercup’ AGM H5the flowers of this cultivar are golden yellow (5c), tinged orange (24a) in bud. although popular in the past, it has been superseded by other all-yellow pokers such as ‘wrexham Buttercup’.prichard, 1923h: 90–140 s: 12–16 × 5–6 l: 27–30 f: 7–9

‘Candlelight’ this dwarf, grass-leaved poker produces clear yellow (1B) flower-heads, tinged with red-orange (30B) in the uppermost buds. it should not be confused with the us-raised ‘candle light’.Bloom, 1975h: 50–90 s: 9 × 3 l: 23–25 f: 6–9

Uniform yellow

‘Bob’s Choice’ this medium-sized poker has flowers of uniform yellow (10a) from greenish (151B) buds. in the 2007–09 Rhs trial it flowered reliably twice each year.cotswold garden flowers, 2006h: 90–130 s: 9–23 × 5 l: 21–35 f: 6–7, 8–10

‘Bee’s Gold’ a very tall cultivar, the flowerheads are deep yellow. despite its name, this does not appear to be a Bees of chester introduction as it was never listed in their catalogues. i have therefore followed modern sources in the placing of the apostrophe.rougham hall Nurseries, 2005h: 180 f: 7–8

‘Banana Popsicle’ (Popsicle Series)this dwarf, grass-leaved cultivar has yellow buds with a hint of green which open to golden yellow flowers, darker than those of ‘lemon popsicle’.terra Nova Nurseries, 2015h: 60 f: 7–10

350 cultivars cultivars 351

Stark’s early perpetual-flowering hybrids this strain was notable for flowering in its second year from seed but there is little else to distinguish it.stark, 1913h: 40–150 f: 5–10

‘Goldfinch’ Slieve Donardthis is a medium-sized poker with flowerheads of orange-tinted yellow and greenish buds.

although the name is predated by ‘goldfinch’ of Krelage published in 1912, this slieve donard cultivar has no alternative name.slieve donard, 1950h: 90–110 f: (6–)7–8(–9)

‘Limelight’ this cultivar has yellow flowers emerging from green buds. it is possible that more than one plant has been offered under this name, but recent ones i have seen (pictured) have quite full flowerheads above low, broad leaves that are slightly twisted.Norton hall, 1971h: 100–110 f: 7–8

‘Sally’s Comet’ the flowers of this cultivar are pure yellow, opening from rather greenish buds.Beal, 1999h: 90 f: 6–7

Seed-raised cultivars

Mixed colours

‘Royal Castle’ this strain gives rise to relatively short plants with greyish green leaves and flowers in the usual shades of red, orange and yellow. the foliage colour suggests it was raised using plants of tuckii group.hudson, 1987h: 60–150 s: 25

‘Flamenco’ this strain produces dwarf plants in a range of colours that usually flower in their first year. Benary, 1998h: 60–80 f: 6–9

‘Border Ballet’ this strain yields dwarf plants in pastel colours but with the larger flowerheads of taller cultivars. hurst seeds, 1982h: 45 s: 15–20 × 5–6 f: 6–9

seed strains have been a feature of Kniphofia breeding since the early 20th century. individual plants raised from seed strains may be offered by nurseries, or sometimes customers can buy the seed themselves from seed merchants. the characteristics of the strain, such as flower colour (usually a range), height and flowering time, are sometimes defined by the breeder or retailer.

while buying the seed itself and doing your own selection can be of value, i see little point in buying ready-grown plants from seed strains rather than named, clonal cultivars. You may get lucky, but more likely not. if you do buy individual plants it is best to obtain them in flower so you can see what you are getting, but even then it is difficult to tell how the plant will perform in the long term, or how regularly or prolifically it will flower.

the plants pictured on this page are just examples of what you might get from each strain. other strains not illustrated include Bressingham hybrids, ‘express’ and ‘Fairyland’.

352 cultivars cultivars 353

Series

Mixed colours

Popsicle Series this series arose from the same breeding programme as the glow series. it shares the characters of glow series in being grass-leaved, of short height (50–80cm) and quick to flower from plugs. however, the cultivars of popsicle series flower earlier in the season than the glow series, from about June onwards. its recent introduction means that longevity in the garden is untested, and other grass-leaved cultivars are often short-lived. nevertheless, the cultivars in the series produce impressive displays of flowers.

‘mango popsicle’ and ‘papaya popsicle’ were selected from the same cross that created the glow series. this demonstrates the artificial nature of series names, where closely related plants can be placed in different series alongside plants from unrelated crosses. terra Nova Nurseries, 2011‘Banana popsicle’ – see under uniform yellow‘creamsicle’ – see under uniform orange‘lemon popsicle’ – pictured above, see also under uniform yellow‘mango popsicle’ – see under uniform orange‘orange Vanilla popsicle’ – see under orange or red, and white or cream‘papaya popsicle’ – see under Red or orange, and yellow‘pineapple popsicle’ – see under Yellow and white‘Redhot popsicle’ – see under uniform red or orange-red

Echo Series this series arose from a breeding programme by Richard g. saul that aimed to produce plants with unique flower colours, an early starting and long flowering period, semi-evergreen foliage and strong, upright stems. all members of the series start to flower in late april and continue throughout the summer. they have flowering stems about 100cm in height.

the current three constituents of the series are reproduced vegetatively and were selected as single seedlings from crosses in which ‘candle light’ was the male parent. the female parent of ‘echo duo’ and ‘echo Rojo’ was ‘Firelight’ and the female parent of ‘echo mango’ was ‘apricot surprise’.itsaul plants, 2007‘echo duo’ – see under Brownish orange and white‘echo Rojo’ – see under uniform red or orange-red‘echo mango’ – pictured above, see also under uniform orange

Glow Series this series was raised by Janet n. egger with an aim to produce compact, reblooming plants. the breeding programme resulted in plants that put all their effort into flowering in late summer; august through september and even into october. they are compact, about 50cm in height when in flower, grass-leaved, and quick to flower from plugs.

the two cultivars in the series are reproduced vegetatively and were selected from crosses between unreleased cultivars designated ‘K10-1’ and ‘K10-2’. they received their us plant patents under the names ‘ember glow’ and ‘Fire glow’. however, the eu pBR authorities rejected the word ‘glow’, for a reason that is not clear, so in europe they are protected under code cultivar names, ‘tneg’ and ‘tnfg’ respectively, and their us cultivar names have to be styled as trade designations.terra Nova Nurseries, 2011‘tneg’ Ember Glow – see under uniform orange‘tnfg’ Fire Glow – pictured above, see also under uniform red or orange-red

Poco Seriesthis series was raised by Janet n. egger. the grass-leaved cultivars are claimed to be shorter than those of glow series and popsicle series, producing numerous, relatively large flowerheads from July to october. terra Nova Nurseries, 2015‘poco orange’ – pictured above, see also under uniform orange‘poco Red’ – see under uniform red or orange red‘poco Yellow’ – see under uniform yellow