AusBonsai

Hi all,
I'm new here and new to Banksia's. I got this Banksia integrifolia from a local nursery the other day.As you can see in the pics I have removed one branch that I did not like.
When I pulled it out of the pot I found it was pot bound as all gone out and would like to no how much root I can remove as I have heard natives don't like bare rootting but as you can see there is next to no soil there any way.
Thanks for any advice in advance

Cheers
Aubs

Hi

Hi

Banksias aren't as touchy as other natives. I would remove about a third of the root ball and tease the rest out. I would also cut the trunk back to the first branch and turn it into a new leader.

Hi

Hi

Bougy Fan wrote:Banksias aren't as touchy as other natives. I would remove about a third of the root ball and tease the rest out. I would also cut the trunk back to the first branch and turn it into a new leader.

Hi and thanks Bougy Fan,
That branch has been removed, by a 3rd do you mean from total or open up the root mass and go from there ????????

Wow the chop was exactly where I would have done it Generally you are wanting to make the root ball shallower for the eventual fitting into a bonsai pot. So I would take most of it from the bottom. I would also pot into a larger diameter orchid pot in a free draining mix and give it plenty of seasol after.

Hi Bougy Fan again thanks for that info but there are some larger (thick) roots at the bottom and not shore on the cutting of them. Could they be tap roots or what but in one of the pics I posted there are some nice new surface roots that seem to be growing down the side of the root mess

Banksia don't have tap roots. Cut them back with a sharp tool and they will re shoot. If you want to to get into a bonsai pot you have to reduce the size and height of the root ball

Nice tree
Liek bougy suggests, Cut off the bottom 1/3 of the roots and if you are going to put back into the grow pot, cut off 1/2 an inch of the outside of the roots to give some room for new roots to grow into.
Banksia are quite hardy and can tolerate a fair amount of root disturbance and bounce back.

Ken

I find that banksias have prolific root sytems. Mine fill any pot with roots in less than a year so i think I might have to repot every year. I have been cutting off about 3/4 of the root ball each time I repot and they just keep on growing.
Srape down from the surface to make sure you have roots growing from the trunk before cutting through the rootball. When you know where the main roots come from the trunk you can cut through the rest of the root ball somewhere lower and trim back around the outside edges to remove circling roots - do not worry about cutting thicker roots, more will grow.
I have root pruned banksias in October, November, December, Jan and Feb and all just kept on growing. The ones I did in cooler months took ages to recover.

Thanks all for the comments and advice wiil put up some pics soon lol have itchy fingers now.
Cheers Aubs

All the advice given is good; but it would be good to know where you live approximately for more specific information.

grant

Hi Grant I live in Bundaberg QLD.