How to Grow Painted Lady Lilies
With its 7-inch flower spikes rising on bronze-green stems, Painted Lady is an eye-catcher in the garden. A red-hot poker (Kniphofia uvaria) cultivar, Painted Lady's flowers are reddish-orange at the top, gradually blending and lightening to a soft, cream color at the bottom of the narrow, upright spike. Painted Lady is often called torch lily. The plant grows 3 feet tall and more than 2 feet wide and thrives in US Department of Agriculture Plant Hardiness zones 5 to 10. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Select a sunny site with well-drained soil. Prepare the flowerbed several days before planting in spring, after all danger of frost has passed. Use the shovel or tiller to turn the earth to a depth of 8 to 12 inches.
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Use the rake to drag any rocks or large pebbles out of the site. Break up large dirt clods with the shovel or your fingers. Rake the surface of the flowerbed smooth and water the site thoroughly.
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Use the hand trowel to dig a planting hole 3 inches deep and about 2 inches wide, or as deep as the Painted Lady plants currently sit in their nursery pots. If you plant more than one Painted Lady, dig the holes about 2 feet apart so the plants will not crowd one another as they mature.
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Place one plant in the center of each planting hole. Backfill the hole with the dirt excavated while digging the hole and lightly tamp the soil down around the base of the plant. Water thoroughly. If the soil settles after watering, add enough soil to bring the top of the planting hole level with the surrounding soil.
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Keep the plant moist at all times. Spread 1 to 3 inches of mulch around the plants to help preserve moisture and keep the roots cool in summer. Cut back on watering after the plant finishes flowering, around September.
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Fertilize annually in early spring. If the plants become thick and flowering begins to suffer, divide the clump into two plants and transplant the two halves 2 feet apart.
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Tips & Warnings
Mix compost or general-purpose fertilizer into the soil while preparing the planting bed to improve fertility, if desired. Mulch heavily or cover the plants in winter in Zone 5 for added protection from winter freeze.
Deer do not like Painted Lady lilies, but butterflies and hummingbirds do, making it a good addition to the butterfly garden.
Remove spent flowers and stems to encourage more blooms.
The foliage is sword-shaped and can be sharp. Wear gardening gloves to handle the plant.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Nisian Hughes/Digital Vision/Getty Images
