Pruning red hot pokers advised for optimal flower growth: Techniques employed by horticulturists to secure abundant spikes
Red hot pokers (Kniphofia spp.), the tall, vibrant perennials native to sub-Saharan Africa, can bring a burst of colour to your summer borders and pots with their orange, red, peach, and white blooms. To keep these plants in peak form throughout the summer, deadheading is essential.
Frequency
Deadheading red hot pokers regularly is key to maintaining their continuous blooms. A simple snip every few days can maximize continuous blooms during the summer, according to some sources, while others suggest deadheading usually once a month during the growing season.
Best Time
Start deadheading once flowers begin to fade or wilt, typically during summer when blooms appear. Deadheading in August can still promote new flower buds since the growing season is ongoing.
Tools and Method
Use clean pruning shears or scissors to remove spent flower stalks. Cut the whole flower stalk at the base where it meets the main stem or just above a leaf node to encourage new growth and branching. Removing faded flowers prevents the plant from putting energy into seed production, helping maintain floral vigor.
Additional Tips
- Deadheading red hot pokers encourages more flower stems to form, even for sterile plants.
- Pruning red hot pokers can be done a little sooner than waiting for all petals to drop, to redirect energy into flower production.
- Snip any chunky or longer stems into smaller pieces (no more than a few inches) before adding to the compost heap.
- Many red hot poker cultivars are sterile and won't produce seeds.
- Red hot pokers flower from the bottom up, with lower blooms fading before upper blooms appear. After flowers have turned brown and petals have fallen, small green seedpods begin to swell on red hot pokers.
- Deadheading red hot pokers is recommended for adding to the summer gardening checklist this year.
- With consistent and regular deadheading, red hot pokers can keep emerging right through until fall, particularly during mild years.
Caring for Red Hot Pokers
- Red hot pokers are drought-tolerant and can survive without rainfall in their native habitat. However, deep watering red hot pokers once a week can help with flower production, particularly in hot summers.
- Deadheading is not the only way to care for red hot pokers. Composting trimmed red hot poker stems, flowers, and leaves is possible and beneficial for green waste. Using protective gloves can keep hands safe while deadheading red hot pokers. Okatsune snips can easily cut through red hot poker flower stems during summer.
Availability
The crimson 'Red Hot Popsicle' red hot pokers, an unusual dwarf variety, is available for purchase as live plants via Nature Hills. Red hot pokers tend to flower in summer, usually around June, July, and August, depending on the variety, local climate, and US hardiness zone.
Maintaining Your Tools
A sharpener from Altuna can be useful for sharpening garden pruners and snips, including those used for trimming red hot pokers.
Adding red hot pokers to your home-and-garden gardening list can help you maintain a vibrant garden lifestyle, thanks to their continuous summer blooms. To encourage more flower stems and prolong their blooming period, regular deadheading with garden tools such as pruning shears or scissors is essential, best done starting once flowers begin to fade or wilt during summer.
