banksia styling help

[dregs24]

hi eveyone,

i picked up this fella today but have no idea where to chop it i really like banksia and this is my first one so any advice is welcomed and appreciated. hope the pics are ok. also do you think its worth the $65 i paid for it?

thanks

[roka]

this is good price.Very easy to do and would look kickass in a nice pot,

[kcpoole]

Hi Dregs
Nice stock for 65 bucks , Where did you find it?

I suggest find the best front. and then cut back hard

My virt I think the movement 0of the trunk works good and the nebari is good too
Cut back hard and then you will will have shoots everywhere to pick from to build the branches and foliage

Ken

[dregs24]

hi roka and ken,

i was affraid i may have paid slightly too much but wasn't sure, either way i was happy with with the deal but now don't want to bugger up a potentialy nice tree.
ken thanks for the virt- its exactly the direction i needed. i bought it locally from a little bonsai nursery that helps me out every now and then called baloc bonsai- nice one man operation with quiet a few awesome trees.

thanks again

[Jamie]

gday pal


it looks good for 65 bucks to me, what ya gotta think about when you buy stock is the time involved in getting the tree to where it is now, ground growing or plastic pot, how much time the nursery invested in it water fertilising, any sort of pruning.

now ken has given you a good chop point, think about airlayering that top as it has som good girth at that point still and you could end up with two trees for you hard earned!

then think about getting it into a grow box or the ground to get it to throw as many branches as it can which should be easy with banksia and this will help fatten the trunk.
craig has posted a good topic on this exact sort of thing with nursery stock. the topic is stripping down nursery stock trees.

good buy, guud luck with the design, once it is cut down/airlayered you will have heaps of options and choices


jamie

[dregs24]

great advice jamie, thanks mate

my game plan for this tree was to put into a grow box but was concerned about swelling at the top intersection of branches? thats why i want to cut back up there before beefing it up. when is a good time to repot into the box- i thought i may have to wait til the end of spring maybe?

thanks

brett

[Jamie]

like i said mate i am no expert with banksia far from it, you could get away with repotting now if you give it good after care, i beleive that is the basis of repotting and it can be done as long as the after care is good, as for chopping back for beefing it up putting an airlayer on will make the tree react like it has been chopped anyways and it will push new growth under the layer anyway as you are breaking the flow of the tree so it is just like cutting anyways

jamie

[craigw60]

Hi Dregs,
Have a look at my post called stripping down nursery stock. Banksia are so quick to thicken if you spend just 2-3 years working on this trees trunk you will have something really good. Your new tree is very nicely selected starter material.
Craig

[anttal63]

this is good price.Very easy to do and would look kickass in a nice pot,

It aint ready for a pot yet! Ken on the money!!! Enjoy your tree brett.

[dregs24]

hi everyone

thanks for the help, looks like its going into a box and getting a big chop asap. craig i have read your post and will follow this advice even though i would love to put it into a finished pot straight away.

thanks again everyone, i've got some research to do on soils and stuff now!

brett

[anttal63]

hi everyone

thanks for the help, looks like its going into a box and getting a big chop asap. craig i have read your post and will follow this advice even though i would love to put it into a finished pot straight away.

thanks again everyone, i've got some research to do on soils and stuff now!

brett

My latest favourite mix is: ! 1/3 Grow Better Native potting mix + 1/3 medium diatamite + 1/3 5-7mm scoria.

[dregs24]

champion ant- thanks heaps

but where's the best place to find all this?

thanks

[Grant Bowie]

Hi

I wrote an article on B ingrifolia a while ago and its in the native section of course. viewtopic.php?f=66&t=812&start=15

The banksia you have bought looks like the slightly smoother bark variety and would benefit from some years of growing on to fatten the trunk. The one below has always been in pots and would have thickened quicker if I had grown it on for a few years first; but I still like the result anyhow.

B integrifolia in new pot Feb 2009.jpg

Banksia are fairly tolerant of potting mixes but not too coarse(they love water) but not too fine(as they can get root rot and a very fine mix will stay too wet and starve it of oxygen to the roots).

Have fun with it. If you want to have one in a pot now; buy a second smaller one and you will have worked out the plant before you start serious work on the bigger one.

Grant

[anttal63]

champion ant- thanks heaps

but where's the best place to find all this?

thanks

Most garden nurseries have Native potting mix doesn't have to be Grow Better. Sage horticulture Herald st cheltenham for diatamite. Kensington garden supplies corner on stubbs rd and macauley rd kensington for scoria.

[dregs24]

cheers mate.

brett