[squizzy] banksia integrifolia entry 1

[squizzy]

Hi Bebbas,

Thanks for the compliment.

Yes when I purchased it it was in a fairly organic mix ( lots of compsted sawdust like material) I probably cut the rootball in half from that 6 inch pot as I am a petty rough surgeon. I think I then potted it into a mix I had just made up. It was something like a 2 parts sifted general potting mix, 2 parts 5mm nepean river pebble, and 1 part perlite with a handfull of slow release and maybe a handful of DL. It probably sat for 2 months without any signs of new growth through sept and Oct and then it shot like crazy.

I have since repotted it in a similar mix into this small clay pot in about January. I made this decision based on not wanting to disturb the roots this coming spring and hopefully not getting a lag time between spring and the new growth. Is that the right choice? I am not so sure but its done now. The advantage is there is no disturbance. The disadvantage is there is not as much soil for the roots to produce more foliage.

Cheers

Squizz

[EdwardH]

Hi Sqiz,

Banksia species tend to sulk if you repot them when cold. They shoot back very quickly if it is hot. Maybe you should wait till Nov / Dec befor repotting, that's when I do mine and they don't miss a beat.

[squizzy]

Cheers Edward h. I have repotted this in jan. not planning on repotting before the end of the comp.

Squizz

[squizzy]

Ok heres the latest photo.

I dont think a lot has changed. I have decided the pot it is currently in is to tall so I have bought a shorter round pot which I will put it in just prior to the competition finishing. I hope to get a bit of refined branching before then but I wont hold my breath. It looks ready to shoot but it just wont. Maybe just a bit more warmth needed after a cold few weeks in sydney.

DSC04364.jpg

Cheers

Squizz

[squizzy]

ahh

Have just been on holidays two weeks and returned to some damaged plants. One of them being this banksia. Leaves are all dead and roots look badly damaged. A valuable lesson leaving the watering in the care of others for a 2 week period. I am dissapointed and it looks likely this one wont pull through .

Squizz

[kcpoole]

Bummer Squizz, Painfull lesson to learn

I now use several holiday methods.
reliable Automatic system, and a friend / mother in law to make sure that it comes on and to spray around soem extra water every few days for Justincase

Ken

[squizzy]

Yeah I thought I had the watering part covered but as we all know there is special attention required for small pots and free draining mixes that others are not really aware of. My fault. no one elses but I hope this is a warning to others.

It is still green under the bark so maybe not all is lost.

Squizz

[Chad]

Its definately a hard lesson, i had the same problem last summer and i nearly losy my entire collection. Some are still recovering.
Hopefully you dont loose it and the tree comes back.

[squizzy]

DSC04641.jpg

This is the resulting tree from the lack of attention it received while I was gone.

It is still green under the bark but I am not confident.

Squizz