AusBonsai

It naturally develops an aesthetically pleasing rugged look, without requiring much work. They are the most anti-tapered Banksia I have grown. No matter what you do, they often bulge all over the place and have inverse taper everywhere, but it also resonates a lovely natural look when the entire tree develops it all over.

My large B. marginata was small nursery stock purchased from Grant Bowie in 2002, grown in ground for about 8 years with some cutting back of the top and digging around the root system twice a year (maybe not every year). When I repotted it in 2015, I found that the root system had developed into a big woody plate, with a fringe of fine roots around the outside. No wonder it was not doing so well. I dug concavities into the underside of the plate and applied rooting powder. Seemed to help but the tree still did not flourish. In 2018, I went further and drilled holes into the plate and again applied some rooting hormone. I had to scrape/cut away some dead root mass at this time. Doing better now.
The small tree came from Bunnings in a 10cm plastic pot. I’ve done very little but separate the trunks. I think this Penny Davis pot is perfect for it.

LLK wrote: ↑December 10th, 2019, 5:11 pm Rory wrote:

It naturally develops an aesthetically pleasing rugged look, without requiring much work. They are the most anti-tapered Banksia I have grown. No matter what you do, they often bulge all over the place and have inverse taper everywhere, but it also resonates a lovely natural look when the entire tree develops it all over.

A member of the Canberra Bonsai Society read this and consequently sent me photos of her two Banksia marginata which have no anti-taper tendencies. One dates from 2002 and the second from 2013. The latter is growing more of a ringed bark, the way Sno's big one does.

Lisa

Banksia marginata 2013.detail.jpg