Gardening Question From Lesley:

Planted three 5-gallon Kniphofia “Ember Glow” in bloom in mid November. Six months later the plants have doubled in size but no bloom spikes. When should I expect plants to bloom again?

Answer From Pat:

The bloom season of most kniphofia is May and June. To me that is too short. Since your  plant was in bloom in November, it sounds like a fall-blooming hybrid. My guess is it will bloom again in September and stay in bloom one month to six weeks. Also, kniphofia look like drought-resistant plants, but actually need a lot of water. For these reasons, though I grew one once, I tossed it out and got something that gave me more bang for the buck. In my opinion most varieties need more winter chill than they get in Sunset Zone 24, (along the coast in Southern California.)