A little Red Hot Poker to warm you up!

In the midst of bare trees and cold earth, I thought I'd bring a glimpse of spring to the blog by mentioning that you can plant perennials now. Sometimes, after I've done my winter clean-up (removing drifts of leaves from my planting areas, along with other assorted winter litter, such as gum balls and pine cones), I'll find a spot for an extra special or unusual perennial. One such perennial is Red Hot Poker, or Kniphofia sp. I like Red Hot Poker because it's easy to grow and a bit unusual. This is a plant that your "upper end" nurseries are more likely to have, although, it may not be readily available until mid to late February, so you may want to call before visiting a nursery looking for it, now. There are several species of the genus Kniphofia, but the ones available for sale are going to be very similar.
Red Hot Poker plants (also called Torch Lily or Tritoma) produce spikes of brightly-colored, hanging, red-to-orange flowers. I have seen the stems that support the spikes as long as 4 to 5 feet, so keep that in mind when placing Red Hot Poker in your garden. They like full to part sun and will grow in difficult soil. The foliage is daylily-like and will develop quite a thick clump over time. No problem, though. Simply dig up the clump any time and split the clump into smaller portions. Then, you can add your new plants to other spots in the garden or give them away.
Additional Note: As with almost all commercially available plants, there are often named varieties and hybrids of the species you are considering. For instance, the Red Hot Poker plant, Kniphofia hirsute, has a variety that can be purchased via mail order (I have not seen it a local nurseries) called 'Traffic Light'. Kniphofia hirsute 'Traffic Light' has flowers that appear in the colors of a 'traffic light'…red, yellow, and green on each flower spike. Also, this variety is more compact, with spikes that stay under 2' tall.