Saw this plant in full flower at Borde Hill garden a couple of weeks ago and
just had to have it, stunning and imposing at the same time. A flower spike
potentially up to 3 metres tall and in proportion too. Anyone growing it, is
it as easy as other Kniphofias?

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
Posting to this Newsgroup
from the W.of London. UK

"Chris Hogg" wrote ..

"Bob Hobden" wrote:

Saw this plant in full flower at Borde Hill garden a couple of weeks ago
and
just had to have it, stunning and imposing at the same time. A flower
spike
potentially up to 3 metres tall and in proportion too. Anyone growing it,
is
it as easy as other Kniphofias?

I have grown several species Kniphofia over the years, including
uvaria, but not K. u. nobilis AFAIK. Most of them slowly died out; I
don't know why. Perhaps they're just not very long lived. They were
mostly grown from seed, and the colour of my K. uvaria was rather dull
pinkish-red and I didn't think much of it.

What have survived are K. rooperi which does well. Not as tall as you
say for K.u. nobilis, but still about 4 - 5 ft., and with a more
rounded head than most kniphofias. There is a long 'avenue' of clumps
of K. rooperi around the base of St. Michael's Mount, in West
Cornwall. Should be in full bloom about now. See
http://tinyurl.com/m2wrn8o

Also persistent with me is K. thomsonii var. snowdenii, which has a
sort of stretched or elongated flower spike. Not tall, say about 3 ft.
but willing, flowers over a long period, and slowly spreads but very
manageable. I love it. See http://tinyurl.com/nacjat3

K. Prince Igor is another tall one. First seen in a neighbour's
garden; tall 6ft +, towering bright orange-red flowers. A 'must have'!
They gave me a root, and although it did well for a year or two, it
slowly declined and is now a shadow of its former self. I shall move
what's left of it to my mother's garden in the autumn and hope it does
better.


For K. uvaria "Nobilis" AGM imagine a 2 to 3 metre tall K.rooperi with
longer & bigger flowers.

We had one Red Hot Poker, looked like K.rooperi, for a very long time.
Probably 35 years but the last very wet winter finally seems to have killed
it after it was in decline due to being overgrown. I did try to move it but
it's gone finally. That one flowered in early May if not even earlier.

Nobilis will be planted in our S facing well drained front garden so should
do well.

Can't get your second photo to work, just get the main flickr page, not even
yours.
--
Regards. Bob Hobden.
Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK