Seasol and Banksia's - Do they mix?

[Dave54]

Hi everyone,
I'm not an Aussie Native man, however, I have a few mates who have lost Banksia Serrata by using Seasol !!
cheers
Dave

[Joel]

Hi everyone,
I'm not an Aussie Native man, however, I have a few mates who have lost Banksia Serrata by using Seasol !!
cheers
Dave

You have mentioned this a few times recently. I don't mean to doubt you, but have you checked the validity of this information?

I personally use seasol on my banksias (serrata's and integrifolia's) regularly, usually every 2 weeks. I have not had an issue, and the trees seem more healthy than before i started with it. As for seasol being just a bunch of chemicals, what is any other fertilizer or soil amendment made of? Organic or inorganic, its still the same chemicals that the plant uses. Each atom is exactly identical.....

Could we have some more details please? If its a built up suspicion, id like to know so i can react accordingly.

Many thanks!

JayC

[anttal63]

i second that jay , i use it on a weekly basis in quarter strength mixes, native's and exotics love it. id be more worried about strong mixes less frequently though. as a soil conditioner i would think it takes care of any soil alkalinity probs too.

[teejay]

I use seasol on Banksias also. No probs here.

I think trouble may arise with Banksias if you've starved them of nutrients for some period forcing them to throw out proteoid roots. These fine roots leech out any remaining nutrients they can find yet they're easily cooked by a sudden burst of fertiliser thus harming the tree. If seasol would be enough to do this I'm not sure but I would've thought it was safe enough.

[anttal63]

teejay thats an interesting tid bit you've brought up. i think it would be very easy for people to get heavy handed thinking its safe.

[Dave54]

Hi guys,
I'm glad to hear that you all use seasol with success on your Banksias.
My evidence is that my 85 year old mate from the Central Coast, had well established and old Banksias for years prior to the release of Seasol. Within a few weeks of its use, all but one was dead and the survivor looked sick(it did survive). He had done nothing different for the last 35 years, except for the use of Seasol.
Further, A mate from the Newcastle Club had the same result with one very dead Banksia which was a beauty.
The only reason I mentioned the chemical composition, was that the name implies "Seaweed Based", apparantly it's not.
Didn't mean to create a controversy, as I say I'm not an Aussie Native person and you would all be more qualified than me on the subject.
For what it's worth, I most certainly won't be using it on my only Banksia, but I wish you all continued success. I am not anti seasol, as I use it on ALL other trees.
cheers
Dave

[LLK]

I have a few mates who have lost Banksia Serrata by using Seasol !!

I am also surprised at this. Seasol is not a fertiliser, and I have never found it to harm any plant, the Banksia included.
Banksias can be tricky to grow and I have lost two of them, trying. They are very susceptible to root rot, for ex.
I can't help thinking that the Banksias mentioned above must have died of other causes than the use of Seasol.
It's hard to verify, though, isn't it.

The only reason I mentioned the chemical composition, was that the name implies "Seaweed Based", apparantly it's not.

That is really strange. See
http://www.seasol.com.au/index.php?opti ... &Itemid=54
especially the paragraph beginning with "Seasol is a 100% Australian liquid seaweed extract....".

Anyway, I'll post the subject on the Canberra Bonsai Society forum and see if anyone here can come up with an explanation.
In the meantime, Grant Bowie's article on Banksia is worth reading. See
http://cbs.org.au/wiki/index.php?title= ... _as_Bonsai

Lisa

[Pup]

I too am surprised at this although I have not been growing the Banksias I have as long as your friends Dave.
I have had no such reaction, even on an Adenanthos which is a rare plant for Bonsai culture.
It is also a member of the proteaceae family.
Friends of mine have used Seasol on there Proteas for years, as there reaction to fertilisers is not good.
With seasol they have a good show of flowers. Every year. It is puzzling though. Pup

Ps I have also used Seasol on Xanthorrhoea ( grass tree )

[Dave54]

Hi Guys,
received a phone call from the Manager of Seasol today. See new posting SEASOL THE FACTS.
cheers
Dave

[airlift777]

I believe due to the age of your friends Proteas and the Proteoid root system with the addition of Seasol caused the demise of the plants. Believe me your better of never using any type of liquid fertilizer.Period! Use a bit of compost or mulch on the top two inchs of soil around your Protea and that all you need. Useing any type of fertilizer especially liquid is a recipe for disaster. I have over 30 diff rent types of proteas and found out the hard way buy loseing Proteas to chemicals

[Pup]

I believe due to the age of your friends Proteas and the Proteoid root system with the addition of Seasol caused the demise of the plants. Believe me your better of never using any type of liquid fertilizer.Period! Use a bit of compost or mulch on the top two inchs of soil around your Protea and that all you need. Useing any type of fertilizer especially liquid is a recipe for disaster. I have over 30 diff rent types of proteas and found out the hard way buy loseing Proteas to chemicals

Banksias are members of the proteaceae family, but are not Proteas, they are Banksia an Australian native not South African. I have used seasol on my trees as I have stated to no ill affect.

Cheers Pup

[NBPCA]

Hi all,

At the National Bonsai and Penjing Collection of Australia we fertilize weekly; but not weakly.

We have a short growing season here compared to other parts of Australia and so I decided to up our fertilizer rates this year. Last year we fertilised every two weeks at recommended dose; so for instance 30ml of Powerfeed(Or Nitrosol, Charlie Carp etc) per 10 liter of water every two weeks; plus Seasol on occasion(50/50).

This year we are still using Powerfeed and are using 30ml per 10 litres of water every week plus Seasol at 30ml per 10 litres of water every week. Including Banksia. No negative results on any plant at all; including Banksia; and I must say all the trees have never looked healthier.

The issue of over fertilising a weak Banksia is covered in my article so if you have an old or weak Banksia that has not been regularly fertilised then you should build up slowly to the recomended dosage rate and then experiment with fertilising frequency.

At the collection at the moment we have a B serrata and B aemula and have had B integrifolia.

At home I have B serrata, B integrifolia var integrifolia, B integrifolia var compar, B paludosa and B saxicola. No problems with any of them.

So does Seasol kill Banksia? Only if you hit it over the head with a full 20 litre container.

In my humble opinion.

Grant

[kcpoole]

I use Seasol on any tree I repot for the first month or so or until I see positive growth. I have Banksia integrifolia and the airlayer I have taken a few months ago got a Seasol drink every week.

Still going strong
Ken