I was inspired by Loree's post about her Tetrapanax 'Rex' which made me think of what other plants I can recommend that gets big in a relatively short amount of time and never fails to make a statement in a garden...
Kniphofia northiae
One of them would have to be the giant red hot poker, Kniphofia northiae...It gets big, really big, sometimes up to a meter in height and spread in just one season and looking more like a giant, succulent aloe rather than a red hot poker. The longer you have it the taller it can go both upwards, forming a trunk, and outwards as it sends out more shoots to form a colony.
The flowers are a bonus but grow it more for its foliage and architectural form.
The long, heavy, and succulent leaves have a tendency to sprawl all over and can smother nearby plants so regular trimming down of leaves can be necessary. Or if space is not a problem give it a generous portion of it and watch it do its thing without anything else crowding it.
It has a tendency to go scruffy in the winter, much like most plants but in early spring before new growth kick starts give the old leaves a good trim like we did ours last weekend, as we do year in and out.
I quite like the way it looks trimmed like that but if you're not keen all the trimmed leaves will be replaced in no time at all as the weather warms up.
This giant poker will do well in a well drained spot in an aspect that is in full sun to light shade. It appreciates feeding and generous watering in the summer but good drainage in the winter is essential to prevent it from rotting which it can be extra susceptible with.
Put it in a prominent spot and watch it grow...
Mark :-)
