AusBonsai

I have this Banksia praemorsa [Cut-leaf Banksia] and would like to know if anyone has any experience with them. I have never tried Banksia before and would appreciate any advise. It was purchased as clearance stock from a local nursery, I repotted and did a minor clean up of the foliage.

My thought was to let it recover and start to fertilize in spring, from what I've read here they are prone to root rot if they get too much water and should not be given too heavy a feed with fertilizer.

Sorry about the orientation, hope that's not a bad omen. I'm not that computer savy, the file is upright when I view it until it is attached

Some computers seem to have that problem with picture orientation. Doesn't matter much with this one.

B. praemorsa has beautiful flowers but does not live long over here. Even in the garden it only lasts 3-4 years and in a pot they are lucky to manage 18 months Most WA species have a short lifespan over this side so I now stick to the tried and tougher Eastern species.

May do a bit better in SA

shibui wrote:Even in the garden it only lasts 3-4 years and in a pot they are lucky to manage 18 months Most WA species have a short lifespan over this side so I now stick to the tried and tougher Eastern species.

Thanks Shibui, Sounds like you saved me some time disappointment. I'll put it in the garden and enjoy it while it lasts.

Interesting about the B. Praemorsa.
I'm under the impression this might be the same species as what I originally purchased to be Dryandra.
See this ancient thread here: https://www.ausbonsai.com.au/forum/view ... ra#p176788
Might explain the short life span I witnessed as well....

Thanks for the link Boics
You would think if you provided a similar environment they should survive. From what I have read they are a hardy plant in the ground in W.A., it seems they are difficult to Bonsai from Shibui's experience. Hopefully The S.A. conditions are closer than the eastern states and it hangs in for a while.

I'll see how it responds in spring, still might be worth a go, won't be the first one to fail if it dies,you don't know if you don't give it a go.

Dryandra is another genus that does not seem to like to live outside its natural habitat. We have a couple of east coast species that have lasted nearly 10 years but now more dead than alive. Many more have died off during that time.
I know some flower growers are able to grow B. coccinea in SA and north west Vic but I have not been able to keep those alive for more than a few months here. B. praemorsa is also grown for the florists. I had one in the garden for a couple of years - long enough to see a couple of flowers before it died too. Not sure whether it relates to soil type, summer humidity or winter minimum temps.

These great plants are well worth trying, even outside their natural area. Your conditions might just suit them but I would not invest in heaps before dipping an experimental toe in the waters first.

PWC wrote:Your conditions might just suit them but I would not invest in heaps before dipping an experimental toe in the waters first.

Shibui, Thanks for the input, it was one of those impulse buys while picking up a liquid Amber for the paddock. At $2 the only real investment will be my time and a bit of fertilizer. I'll probably have a net gain, I'm sure i should learn something.