Seneca Hill Perennials

We have a particular fondness for kniphofias, and they do surprisingly well here in the snow belt. Our guess is that the combination of winter snow cover, good summer rainfall and relatively cool summer temperatures, especially at night, explains why they and many other South Africans do well for us. Whether your climate will suit them is for you to decide. It is always difficult to know, a priori, how well plants from a very different ecosystem will adapt.

Kniphofia afficianados will find most of what there is to know about this genus in L.E. Codd's monograph The South African Species of Kniphofia (Bothalia 9, parts 3 and 4 (October 1968)).

Kniphofia albescens

A handsome species from mountain grasslands in Natal, with deep blue-green, fairly upright foliage and dense inflorescences of pink-tinged buds opening to creamy white. Given its northern , moderate-altitude distribution (up to 1950m/ 6500ft) we did not expect it to be hardy here, but it is.

Kniphofia baurii

A lower-altitude kniphofia than most we grow (found in the wild at up to 1230m/4000ft), but one that overwinters and flowers well here, albeit so late in the season (October) that it is at more than some risk of freezing first. It would probably do better in a warmer zone than ours. We find this a particularly appealing species, with large, dense, almost globose inflorescences of attractive shades of reddish copper to green on stocky upright stems.

Kniphofia breviflora coll. Sentinel Peak

Grown from seeds collected from a colony on the road up Sentinel Peak, where we took the photo you see. This is a pretty little knip with buttery yellow flowers. In the wild, where it competes with grasses, it is quite short (c. 30cm/1ft). Like many plants adapted to lean conditions, it tends to overgrow if you treat it too well. Small but full pots; these plants bloomed in August 2009.

Kniphofia bruceae

The giant of the genus, with towering flowering spikes topped by long, dense golden-yellow inflorescences. This species is exceedingly rare in the wild; our plants are from garden seed descended from plants at the type locality, Bideford Farm in the Kongha district of the eastern Cape. Many thanks to Cameron and Rhoda McMaster not only for seed, but also for the efforts they have made to preserve this magnificent plant in the wild and to introduce it into horticulture.
Photo copyright Cameron McMaster, used with permission

Kniphofia caulescens

A fantastic high-altitude South African species. The evergreen rosettes form stems (are caulescent), so get taller over time. If they winter-kill, new pups emerge around the base. The large, dense flower spikes sport buds of coral-pink to flame-red, opening pale greenish-yellow to cream. This species varies some in the wild, with foliage ranging from narrow to fairly broad and flowering season from mid to late summer. The plants we offer this year are grown from seed collected in Lesotho, where our photo was taken.

Kniphofia 'CoolKnip'

In 2005 we introduced this fantastic hybrid kniphofia, shared with us by Ginny Hunt of Seedhunt, and it's received rave reviews from our customers. The stature of the plant, and the densely packed inflorescences, suggest the influence of K. bruceae. High above the foliage rise immense inflorescences packed with cool yellow buds opening to an even cooler near-white. The color recalls 'Ice Queen' (in fact, Ginny has long called the plant 'Ice King'), but the size of the inflorescence (typically 12-15 long) and the denseness of the flowers puts this one in a league of its own. California origins notwithstanding, it does fine here.

Kniphofia galpinii

We listed this last year as Kniphhofia aff. triangularis, but now that we've seen it bloom here we're fairly sure it's K. galpinii. From seed collected by Cameron McMaster at Tiffendell, South Africa's only ski resort, these have graceful narrow foliage and prettily bicolored flowers. Diminutive, delicate and lovely. Photo copyright Cameron McMaster, used with permission.

Kniphofia hirsuta

A petite kniphofia, free-blooming and vigorous, with multiple flower spikes of coral-red buds opening to pale yellow-green flowers above somewhat raspy, narrow blue-green leaves. Unlike most knips, these bloom in early rather than late summer.

Kniphofia ichopensis

Of all the kniphofias we offer, this seems most like a wild flower. The long, pendant pale yellow flowers are loosely arrayed on an upright spike - a delicate and lovely effect. The plant also tends to keep putting up new flower spikes from late summer well into the fall, so has an unusually long blooming period.

Kniphofia linearifolia

There's nothing subtle about this one. A big, beautiful plant, with the sort of flowers that give kniphofias their dubious reputation: large fat inflorescences densely packed with red-orange buds opening to golden flowers.

Kniphofia northiae

A kniphofia to grow for foliage alone, with astonishing rosettes of extremely wide grey-green leaves (to 12cm/5in at the base) . The leaves tend to spiral around the center, extending octopus-like across the ground.....quite unlike anything else we’’ve grown. The deep red-orange buds, arrayed in a long, densely packed inflorescence, open to greenish flowers. We have only a handful ready for spring 2010 shipping, but have lots of seedlings ready to pot up in spring, so will have a nice crop available for fall shipping.

Kniphofia triangularis subsp. triangularis

A lovely kniphofia that we saw in the Eastern Cape, scattered about in the southern Drakensberg and growing in a large colony in a damp swale on Dohne Peak. The flowers are a brilliant tangerine orange, unusual among kniphofias in being almost the same color as the unopened buds, and they hang down and out, leaving a sharp apex at the top of the inflorescence. This species ranges to quite high altitudes (up to 2500m/8700ft), and is hardy in Oswego. This particular strain, from garden seed, produces more robust plants (taller, broader-leaved) than either of the wild collections we offer. Photo copyright Cameron McMaster, used with permission.

Kniphofia triangularis subsp. triangularis coll. Cala, Transkei

A wild collection from Cala, in the Transkei, of this exquisite and accomodating species. When these bloomed for us this summer, we found the color to be distinctly on the coral side of tangerine - really lovely. We also noted that it started blooming a couple of weeks after the K. triangularis from Tordoon.

Kniphofia triangularis subsp. triangularis coll. Tordoon

A wild collection from Tordoon, near Hogsback in the Eastern Cape, with delicate narrow foliage and the triangular inflorescences of soft tangerine flowers that are typical of the species.

Kniphofia typhoides

This species is hardy here, and blooms successfully, albeit late in the season (September-October). The inflorescences are reminiscent of cattails, with little tubular reddish-brown flowers densely packed along the stem. The bees sleep on them during cool fall nights, and are found there, stupified, in the morning. The fairly upright blue-green foliage twists slightly and is very handsome.

Kniphofia uvaria coll. Thomas River bridge, Cathcart district, Eastern Cape

A species widely distributed in South Africa, from coastal areas of the Western Cape eastward to inland areas of the Eastern Cape. This collection, from the Thomas River bridge in the Cathcart district, is of the higher-altitude Eastern Cape type, with hard, somewhat glaucous leaves and handsome full subglobose inflorescences of red-orange buds opening to green-gold flowers. We saw these plants growing as solitary clumps on rocky outcroppings, where they were typically compact and well-formed. Hardy here, and very ornamental. Only a few older plants available for spring 2010, and they are very tight in their pots.