How many did you originally plant?

Love the dogs, too!

Hi Arlene.
The lilies where here when we bought the place in 1999. It wasn't until 2000 that we realized they were here. Everything was dead, hadn't been watered in a number of years. We started watering the summer of 1999. Come spring time these lilies were coming up everywhere in that area.
I think the original planting was done in 1950.
They are really tough plants and have survived here down to 0°F, plus heavy rains from winter through most of the spring. July and August is our drought season and they get almost no water.

I think if a person planted a border with about 10 plants it wouldn't take long to fill in and create a nice display. The birds love them, hummers when in bloom and goldfinches when they have gone to seed.

I have a total of four. At least it's a start.

You've done a great job with them.

I have thinned them heavily over the years, as they started taking up more ground. They do need to be cleaned out in the late winter/early spring, before new growth starts appearing. It is an easy thing to do. For our area, if I leave all the dead foliage it will start rotting in our heavy winter/spring monsoon season.

I understood they were well rooted plants and extremely difficult to dig. Is that true?

Mature plants have big rhizomes, something like bearded iris have, only bigger. You can see them in this photo.


Yes, it does seem like the roots are well rooted. It is easy to start new plants from the young/new rhizomes that form in the spring. This particular Kniphofia is an impressive sized plant when mature, there are many others that are much smaller.

Thanks. I'll be content with my few plants.

The display will grow larger each year. I look forward to seeing your colony grow.