Banksia for a beginner

[stewart57]

Hi
I'm completely new to bonsai.
I have just bought a banksia integrifolia about 75cm tall which I'd like to bonsai. Can I just cut off the top to the eventual height I want (about 50cm) and leave in current pot (about 15cm) till spring?

thanks

[Grant Bowie]

Hi Banksia Beginner.

As it is coming into autumn then winter you should leave a cut down till it really warms up again, Say November or even better early December.

Read Banksia integrifolia as Bonsai on the Native section of this forum and browse other articles also in the same area.

Grant Bowie

[shibui]

Banksia integrifolia is a good choice for bonsai.
They respond really well to pruning with new buds all over the trunk, even on bare wood.
New shoots might still grow if you prune now but it might just sit till next growing season next spring.

You will need to cut shorter than the height you want because trees only ever grow bigger after pruning. If you cut at finished height you'll find the new shoots grow from close to the cut and grow upward so the tree will soon be taller again. For a tree of 50cm tall I would cut around 40, probably lower if it is the first reduction.

Should be able to stay in the current pot till spring. Now is not a very good time to repot banksia. They seem to do better when root pruned in warmer weather. I do mine in November and December. You have not put a location in your profile or in the post so hard to be definitive as we don't know if you are tropical or cold mountains. There can be big differences in recommendations according to location.

A photo of your tree would allow other members to offer more, better suggestions.

[stewart57]

thank you Grant and Shibui.
very helpful.
I should have said I'm in Sydney, inner west. I tried to post a photo but it said the file's too big. I'll look into how to shrink it

[KlarkBrown]

Hi, I'm still new to the site, I hope to get some growing experience here and find new friends!

[shibui]

Most phones now take high res photos so files are quite big. Files for Ausbonsai need to be under 1Mb.
Try to find an app that will compress the files rather than reducing physical size. Hard to see detail in a postage stamp sized photo.

[stewart57]

B.integrifolia.jpg

Here is a photo. Suggestions appreciated

[shibui]

It is really only a baby yet.
So much depends on what you expect to achieve.
If you are happy with a skinny trunk in a pot with a couple of branches you can cut high and get that in a few months.

If you are aiming at a thick trunk with good taper and plenty of branches like a real banksia I would cut this quite low (around the height of the label) and then allow the resulting new shoots to grow long to thicken the trunk. Eventually cut back to one of the new trunks to get better trunk taper and repeat until the trunk is thick enough. Finally start developing branches.
I have a number of B. integ in the grow beds to develop trunks quickly. From the size of this one to 10cm -15cm thick trunks in 3-4 years.

For rapid growth banksia can be slip potted into a pot 1 or 2 sizes larger but root pruning does not seem to slow growth much if done in warmer weather.