AusBonsai

Hi all, I am on a roll with my Banksia now as I am feeling much better . It has been 3 years and 3 months since my Heart Transplant and all is going well.

Anyhow, today I tackled my biggish B serrata from the Green Cape area of southern NSW.
Here it is before potting. Yesterday I removed all the old , damaged leaves from last years frosts. The selection doesn’t cope as well with frost as the species; but I have a new,protected but sunny spot lined up for it over winter. It was very solidly wedged onto the pot and took some while and some help from Gavin to get it out of its pot. I tried it in its new pot but it sat too high so out came the recipro saw. I took of about 25mm off the bottom. And then finally into its new Luke Parsons pot. The pot is very similar to the one selected for my Leptospermum at the NBPCA. It is a bit improvement over the old one and really compliments this Australian Native. We should all be very proud of our Aussie Trees. They are great.. Did a Seasol bath and then back home into its new area and hopefully it will not get damaged by frost this year.

Grant

Up to date, good photo.
Then into its new place in the yard.

Grant

Hi Grant, looks great.

Interested why you are repotting this one now rather than waiting till another time of year?

Well, I had the right pot, it is mild but warm enough for new root growth before winter and the root system , as expected, was in good shape, so I did it.

I am grooming trees for photography for the virtual AABC convention later in the year. And I am certain the tree will do fine.

Grant

Thanks.

That is helpful.

I had read your articles on Banksia, so was interested. I had just acquired a Banksia and trying to work out the path forward.

Whilst the rain in Sydney has kept things very subdued these past couple of months, things are springing back to life, and things that I've recently repotted are doing very well. Whilst unrelated to Banksia's, I'm glad I had not waited to spring.

In general I prefer to repot almost everything in Autumn if I can, but you still have spring and summer as well if you miss autumn. In autumn there is no set back of the tree usually. It gets going straight away and does not usually put out new or excessive growth as it is autumn. It just settles in and is ready for spring and summer growth.
Potting mix and after care are critical. I sieve my components thoroughly and end up with a very free draining mix . It all works for me.

Grant

Thanks. That is good to know and will help with my decision where to go.

I have a couple of plants in this position. Some I had already jumped in a repotted, but they are Tridents and Ficus so wasn’t expecting any issues there.

I have certainly been reading a few things from people that also prefer to repot in autumn.

Very nice tree. I'd like to see more of the inner structure..

Me too, and that will come once the tree is settled in.

Grant