AusBonsai

The fine, small leaves of this plant, and the range of options available because of the branching, made this plant catch my eye. I've has a look in the Australian Native species, Banksia, section and see that there is little information relating to Banksia spinulosa; any advice would be appreciated.

For now, I'm plan to keep it in the shade house to let it acclimatise (who knows where it was grown) and protect it from the worst of the frosts. I'll work on it when it shows signs of growth later in the year.

I note that in the "The banksia workshop" thread, in response to a question from legoman_iac , "Curious, has anyone had success air layering banksia?" Grainer responded, "yes.. done and it works great all times I have tried", so rather than prune out the tall leader I might try air layering it when the weather is more suitable. I'll let it settle in and keep an eye on it to see how it responds to frosts when they arrive; might snuggle it up next to my fish tank/propagator/cold frame for added warmth. The label says Frost Hardy but wherever it's come from may not have frost quite as serious as those on the tablelands.

Again, any advice would be appreciated.

Jan.

Spinulosa seems quite frost hardy down here. We have a number of different forms planted in the garden and experience frost down to -5C and occasionally -7C.
All named forms of garden plants must be propagated asexually - grafting, cuttings, layers. The fact that these are available commercially and are not grafted means they are able to be propagated as cuttings relatively easily and anything that grows as cuttings will also layer.

I've tried B. spinulosa as bonsai a couple of times but they don't seem to be as hardy as the larger East coast sp so they have not survived very long for me. Hoping you have better result with yours.
I'd try standard banksia care - well drained soil, avoid over watering, low P fertilizer, regular repotting (I've found younger banksias grow masses of very fine roots that can fill a pot in only a year sometimes making it difficult to water properly the following spring and summer which results in death from dehydration despite good watering). Spinulosa responds well to trimming and often produces masses of new buds when pruned as do most banksias.

shibui wrote: ↑May 14th, 2022, 5:58 pm I'd try standard banksia care - well drained soil, avoid over watering, low P fertilizer, regular repotting (I've found younger banksias grow masses of very fine roots that can fill a pot in only a year sometimes making it difficult to water properly the following spring and summer which results in death from dehydration despite good watering). Spinulosa responds well to trimming and often produces masses of new buds when pruned as do most banksias.

Thats pretty much it for me. Shibui has nailed it. The only thing I'd add to that is that I've lost one from drying out, but it didn't get bone dry so I thought it would survive.
I have lost a few from over-watering as Neil says. All banksia don't like having continual wet feet, so bare that in mind. I actually saw one of these the other day that had great movement, but I already have a few I am growing so I need to stop myself buying more.

They are very hardy in my area, but as Neil also states, the variety I used may be more hardy, but they would thrive on neglect in my backyard, (but that means part shade and no frost). We only get down to about 2-3 degrees at the coldest times I recall.