Wallflower Fire King
Erysimum cheiri 'Fire King' — Biennial H5 (fully hardy); short-lived perennial grown as biennial
Vibrant fiery-orange Wallflower with the legendary clove-and-spice fragrance — the warm-tone cottage biennial for dramatic spring colour and early bumblebee support.
About this variety
Dense spikes in a vibrant deep fiery orange, and the strongest warm colour available in a spring garden. Very little else flowering in March and April can match it for intensity.
The scent is the classic wallflower perfume, honey and clove and spice, and it is heavier on a warm still day than most spring flowers manage.
Orange this strong needs handling. It is superb under near-black tulips, where the contrast is about as sharp as spring planting gets, and it works with cream and pale yellow for warm tonal layering. Put it next to pink and it fights. Compact and bushy at 30 to 40cm, flowering March through May.
It is a biennial, so it wants sowing in summer for flowers the following spring. There is nothing to look at in the first year but a rosette of leaves.
All parts are poisonous if eaten, so keep it away from children and pets and wear gloves when handling it.
Plant alongside
Wallflower Fire King pairs beautifully with these cottage garden classics
RHS Plants for Pollinators
This plant has been assessed by the Royal Horticultural Society and recommended as especially beneficial to bees, butterflies and other pollinators. Growing plants like this directly supports UK pollinator populations — something close to our hearts at Salle Moor Hall Farm, where we see the difference a cottage garden full of the right plants can make.
Learn more at RHS.org.uk →