The Poco™ Sunset Dwarf Red Hot Poker, otherwise known as the Kniphofia ‘Poco Sunset’ Plant Patent #28,464 or Crape Myrtle ‘Pink Velour’, Crapemyrtle ‘Pink Velour’, Lagerstroemia indica ‘Whit III’, is a rather well known shrub plant by gardening enthusiasts around the world.
Best known for its low maintenance and fast growth, this shrub will likely liven up your house (or garden) with its green colored leaves. But, only if you learn how to take proper care of it for it to thrive.
This is why all the topics you need to know in order to achieve this will be covered in this Poco™ Sunset Dwarf Red Hot Poker Care Guide. Ready? Let’s go!
The basic care guidelines you need to remember for your Poco™ Sunset Dwarf Red Hot Poker are the following:
- Water: The Poco™ Sunset Dwarf Red Hot Poker needs at least weekly watering, or more in extreme heat, preferably with regular water.
- Light: Keep your Kniphofia ‘Poco Sunset’ Plant Patent #28,464 in an environment where it can receive full sun on a daily basis.
- Soil: Make sure to keep the Poco™ Sunset Dwarf Red Hot Poker in soil with moist but well-draining to well draining properties, so ideally, one that is made of clay, loam, chalk, and sand.
And that’s practically it! If you keep these three factors in check, your Poco™ Sunset Dwarf Red Hot Poker will likely have all it needs for it to survive and even thrive.
Scientific / Botanical Aspects
In botanical terms, the Poco™ Sunset Dwarf Red Hot Poker belongs to the Lythraceae family, the genus Lagerstroemia and the species Indica, hence its scientific (or botanical) name Kniphofia ‘Poco Sunset’ Plant Patent #28,464 (nip-HOFF-ee-uh).
As with other Lagerstroemia’s, the Poco™ Sunset Dwarf Red Hot Poker is a herbaceous plant, which means it will die back to the ground every year.
Growing Region
The Poco™ Sunset Dwarf Red Hot Poker is a plant native to the Central Himalaya to S. China and Indo-China and Philippines.
Knowing your plant’s native region is very useful, as it can give you tips on which environment is best for your Poco™ Sunset Dwarf Red Hot Poker. If you keep it in mind, you can try to replicate these conditions at home, and you’ll likely end with a healthier plant.
With this in mind, the Kniphofia ‘Poco Sunset’ Plant Patent #28,464 will be most used to the heat zones in the 6 – 11 region, as the plant hardiness level falls between 7b, 7a, 8b, 8a, 9b, 9a and the ideal climate zone is between 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 18, 19, 20, 21, H1, H2.
Growth and Size
Growth
In terms of size and growth, the Poco™ Sunset Dwarf Red Hot Poker is a relatively fast grower, which makes things tricky for any plant enthusiast.
Size
But, what size of Poco™ Sunset Dwarf Red Hot Poker are we talking about? What can you expect in terms of height, spread and spacing? Let’s dig in…
The Kniphofia ‘Poco Sunset’ Plant Patent #28,464 can grow up to 6′ – 12′ (180cm – 3.6m) in 6′ – 12′ (180cm – 3.6m) and 6′ – 12′ (180cm – 3.6m) in 6′ – 12′ (180cm – 3.6m).
These dimensions make the Poco™ Sunset Dwarf Red Hot Poker a relatively large shrub compared to others, so it’s best to keep this fact in mind since it will affect where you want to keep yours at home.
This is why experts recommend keeping an area of approximately 72″ – 144″ (180cm – 360cm) free so the Poco™ Sunset Dwarf Red Hot Poker can spread to its best extent.
Water
In terms of watering, the Poco™ Sunset Dwarf Red Hot Poker is a fairly simple plant to take care of.
This is mostly because it has a straightforward watering schedule and somewhat regular watering needs.
Specifically, most experts agree that the Kniphofia ‘Poco Sunset’ Plant Patent #28,464 needs at least weekly watering, or more in extreme heat, preferably with regular water.
Which is why it is considered a plant with relatively average needs in terms of water.
Watering
As a rule of thumb, you should remember to keep your Poco™ Sunset Dwarf Red Hot Poker in soil with moist but well-draining to well draining characteristics, as these will guarantee the right conditions for your plant to grow and thrive.
When you consider this, this is why you should aim to choose soil that has good drainage, moist, occasionally dry, and occasionally wet properties to keep the right moisture levels at all times.
But, if you want a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution to watering your Poco™ Sunset Dwarf Red Hot Poker then you should consider the famous ‘finger’ test. To perform this test, you just need to put your finger in your plant’s soil and determine if it’s moist or not. If it is, then don’t water; if it isn’t, then please do. In any case, this test will allow you to know if your Poco™ Sunset Dwarf Red Hot Poker needs or does not need water, every time.
Soil Mix
As mentioned earlier, the Poco™ Sunset Dwarf Red Hot Poker prefers to have soil with good drainage, moist, occasionally dry, and occasionally wet properties at all times, reason why you need to make the soil mix out of clay, loam, chalk, and sand.
This is why most experts agree that the Poco™ Sunset Dwarf Red Hot Poker requires soil with loam (silt), sand, clay, high organic matter, and shallow rocky, which will give you the right conditions it needs.
In addition to this, expert gardeners recommend having preferably alkaline, acid or neutral soil.
Light and Exposure
In terms of light & exposure, the Poco™ Sunset Dwarf Red Hot Poker requires full sun in order for it to thrive under the right conditions.
Most experts agree that this shrub will do well as long as you keep it in full sun, and it will be able to grow properly.
Specifically, we recommend that you place your Kniphofia ‘Poco Sunset’ Plant Patent #28,464 in full and direct sun (more than 6 hours of direct sunlight per day).
Season
Being a herbaceous plant, the Poco™ Sunset Dwarf Red Hot Poker will die back to the ground every year.
But, you can expect it to have its ‘prime-time’ during the summer (mid, late), and during the fall.
Flowers
You can expect your Poco™ Sunset Dwarf Red Hot Poker to flower around the spring, summer and the fall months from April to June (spring), from July to September (summer), and from October to December (fall).
In particular, this shrub is well known for its long bloom season, flowers for cutting and showy flowers around the plant enthusiast community.
The Poco™ Sunset Dwarf Red Hot Poker produces some beautiful orange, or pink,red/burgundy, gold/yellowpurple/lavender, and white flowers around this time of year.
Foliage
The leaves from the Poco™ Sunset Dwarf Red Hot Poker have a beautiful green color during most of the year.
In particular, they have a simple arrangement with a opposite, alternatewhorled, organization in its leaves.
You can expect the leaves from your Kniphofia ‘Poco Sunset’ Plant Patent #28,464 to be around (1-3 inches) in size.
Attracts, Tolerance and Resistance
The Poco™ Sunset Dwarf Red Hot Poker is well known for its tolerance to clay soil, drought and animals like deer, so don’t worry if any of these come along, your Kniphofia ‘Poco Sunset’ Plant Patent #28,464 will be fine.
Garden
Does your Poco™ Sunset Dwarf Red Hot Poker have any garden recommendations? Does it serve any gardening purposes? Here’s how you can get the most out of your new plant.
Most Kniphofia ‘Poco Sunset’ Plant Patent #28,464 owners agree that this shrub will look great in most mediterranean, contemporary cottage, and rustic gardens of all types.
Other owners consider that they complement well most gardens of informal and cottage, coastal garden, and in traditional garden styles.
In particular, the Poco™ Sunset Dwarf Red Hot Poker’s best location within your garden is in beds and borders, and in hedges and screens, others use it for landscaping in a mass planting, firescaping/fire wise, container, border, cutting garden, erosion control, or a rock garden.
Companion Plants
Poco™ Sunset Dwarf Red Hot Poker’s do well with some other plants beside it. One good companion plant is the Panicum, which will pair up nicely with your leafy friend.
Others consider that a nice Echinacea will work well too, so choose whichever you find works best for you!
Conclusion
And we’ve come to an end. Fortunately, that’s everything you need to know about your Poco™ Sunset Dwarf Red Hot Poker to keep it safe and sound in your garden or home. Enjoy planting!
