The Kniphofia rooperi, or Rooper's Red Hot Poker, is the boldest and latest of the red hot pokers, closing the exotic gardening year with fat, rounded flower heads in glowing orange and yellow. Where most kniphofias carry slim torches, rooperi produces distinctly chunky, egg-shaped spikes on strong stems above broad, arching, evergreen foliage. It is an architectural, sun-loving South African perennial that brings fiery late-season colour just as the rest of the border begins to fade.Flowering through autumn, usually September into October, it is a magnet for bees and other pollinators looking for a last big nectar source. Rated RHS H5, it is fully hardy across most of the UK and shrugs off temperatures down to around -15C once established. It is a genuinely tough, dependable perennial. It is happiest in free-draining soil, and helpfully rooperi copes with more summer moisture than many pokers.How and where to grow Position: full sun for the best flowering, with a little light shade tolerated; an open, warm spot suits it well. Soil: fertile, humus-rich, free-draining loam or sand, acid to neutral, moist in summer but never waterlogged in winter. Size: a clump-forming evergreen reaching around 1.2 to 1.5 m tall and up to 1 m across in a few seasons. Hardiness: reliably hardy (RHS H5); the essential is sharp winter drainage, so add grit on heavy ground. Water well through the first one or two summers to settle the deep, fleshy roots, after which it becomes impressively resilient. Its evergreen, strappy leaves and torch-like heads make it a natural for exotic borders and architectural planting, while its salt and wind tolerance suit it to coastal and exposed gardens. Plant it in drifts as a plant for pollinators, or pair it with other hardy exotics such as the evergreen Trachycarpus fortunei for a layered, year-round jungle effect. For how these plants behave through the seasons, see our hardy exotics, what to expect page.Every Kniphofia rooperi we supply is nursery-grown, selected for a healthy crown and strong roots, and carefully packed to arrive in top condition.
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