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Kniphofia uvaria 'Wilhelm's Lance' (Giant Torch Lily) - A giant among the Red Hot Pokers! From the nearly 3-foot-tall deep green foliage clumps rise the flowers atop stout stems to an amazing 6 to 8 feet tall in the spring. These flowers are in immense 10 inch long by 3-inch-wide clusters that are vibrant orange in bud and open from the bottom up to pure golden yellow.
Plant in well-drained soils and give some supplemental irrigation in summer to encourage flower formation. Hardy to below 15 ° F (to around 0° F if it is mulched or the foliage is retained to protect the growth crown).
The species Kniphofia uvaria grows naturally in the Cape Province of South Africa. It was the first Kniphofia to be described and at that time was mistakenly thought to be an Aloe and was named Aloe uvaria. The name Kniphofia honors Johann Hieronymus Kniphof (1704 -1763), a German physician and botanist. The pronunciation of this genus is often argued about and while most continue to use the easiest to pronounce versions such as ny-FOE-fee-ah or nee-FOF-ee-a, others argue correctly that the name should follow the pronunciation of the name it commemorates. But even for this there are differences of opinion owing to different German regional dialects - one such pronunciation often noted as correct is nip-HOFF-ee-uh while another that is particularly hard to pronounce is k-nip-HOF-ia. Keeping it simple we still use ny-FOE-fee-ah. The specific epithet derives from an old Linnaean name for the plant as Aloe uvaria, from the Latin word 'uva' meaning "grape", in reference to the resemblance to the clusters of the fruits hanging on the stems.
Kniphofia uvaria 'Wilhelm's Lance' was a selection made by Randy Baldwin from a seed crop of Kniphofia "Pfitzer's Hybrids" that grown by San Marcos Growers in 1982. The plant was planted out in Randy's nearby Puente Drive garden then moved to the San Marcos Growers nursery garden in 1987. The name 'Wilhelm's Lance' was chosen to both indicate the stature of the plant and commemorate Wilhelm Pfitzer, the patriarch of the Pfitzer Nursery in Stuttgart, Germany where the seed for this amazing plant originated. We offered this plant from 2009 until we closed the nursery in 2025.
Information displayed on this page about Kniphofia uvaria 'Wilhelm's Lance' is based on our research conducted about this plant in our nursery library as well as from information provided by reliable online resources. We also include our own observations made about it as it has grown in the nursery gardens and other gardens visited, as well how the crops of this plant performed in the containers in our nursery field. We will also include comments received from others and welcome hearing from anyone who has information about this plant, particularly if it includes cultural information aiding others to better grow it.
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