AusBonsai

Started repotting my natives last week. I picked up this Banksia serrata to see if it needed a repot

and found this

A fruiting cone? truthful no idea Ive only started in the ways of the banksia lol

Is this a test Neil?
Forget the flower...if that’s serrata, is that some kind of fungus?

Your trunk is dark as poo, and the branches are so dark??

Strictly speaking it would be called an inflorescence rather than a flower, but I think Neil is either having a laugh or might have over refreshed himself

Yes Rory. This is a test. If you can't get this one correct you'll be off the aussie bonsai team

This is actually the first time any of my potted banksias have flowered so I was quite surprised when I picked this pot up and saw it for the first time. I actually had to have a couple of good looks before it finally clicked

Just for Rory's eagle eyes, there's several things going on with the trunk.
Most of the black is moss. I have a species here that loves to grow up trunks and even in branches. There's a live patch around that first branch. Usually I spray with vinegar to kill it off before it gets too carried away. Vinegar kills the moss but it takes a long time for the remains to disappear. The base has been sprayed so there's dead moss still clinging to the bark down there. Up higher, near the flower, (have I mentioned that I've managed to grow a flower on one of my banksias? ) it is just normal serrata bark. and just in case you missed it that's a banksia flower on one of my prebonsai banksias.

There are three Banksias in the NBPCA, a serrata and two others. They all get pinched frequently, so no flowers - except the mad serrata, which sneaks out a flower or two every year, just to mess with our heads. And the cones last for ages, with seeds that won't open until the bushfires come through...

Worth a visit.

Gavin

Quite funny. To date, I had only looked at this thread my phone. The inflorescence looked like a well placed triangular wood file. Oh, what a difference size makes. The size of one's screen! These photo's are fantastic and more wonderful stock from Neil. Great stuff and very interesting to boot!

Must be a good year for B serrata. I have let this one grow unchecked this year with a view to a bit of a re-design. I feed it fairly regularly, mainly with one of the fruit and flower fertilisers (it had proteoid roots when I last re-potted it in February 2019, which I found interesting). I has 2 cones. First time it has done so in the 10 years I have had it.

It could also be that this has been an horrendously dry year over the eastern states, and many trees are going into /doom mode and flowering madly in an attempt to continue the species...

Nice looking bloom Neil!

Well done Phil. At least your flower is out in the open where it can be seen.

Now I have to decide whether to remove the flower so the tree can concentrate on growing or leave it to open and develop.

shibui wrote: ↑December 15th, 2019, 7:51 pm Now I have to decide whether to remove the flower so the tree can concentrate on growing or leave it to open and develop.

Sorry. In hindsight that was a little rude.
My first reaction should have been:
You got a Bonsai banksia to flower.

Not.... what’s going on with your trunk?

I’ve never had the fortune of seeing a Banksia flower on my Bonsai, only my planted Banksias.
Gosh I’d definitely leave it on there, mainly to enjoy the beautiful sight. I’m jealous.

I hate moss. I never encourage it.
It’s horrible for my deeply fissured casuarina too. I use a blow torch from afar and terminate it when it starts to develop.
It creates a nice bushfire survivor look afterwards if you get to close with the heat.
If I don’t deal with it, it eventually turns the bark into soft mush.

Well done Neil and congratulations.
It's really great to see the more advanced growers still getting excited about reaching new ground.

Cheers,
Pearcy.

Sorry. In hindsight that was a little rude.

No need for apologies Rory. The title was meant as a joke to get some interest. Of course it is hard for all of you to see me grinning at this end though

Besides, you'll need to be quite a lot more rude to offend me

Likewise here, having not really grown Banksia to any degree, I just assumed you were joking around rather than appreciating the that it is an uncommon sight.

A reward for the hard work perhaps?

I got two inflorescence on my B.Serrata this year for the first time as well.
I've left both mine.