Banksia
Banksia spp.
Sun, grit, and lean ground — feed it phosphorus or set it in soil that holds wet and it will not last the year.
Spacing & sowing
- Plant spacing
- 6 ft 7 in
- In-row spacing
- 6 ft 7 in
- Between rows
- 8 ft 2 in
- Square-foot density
- Not suited to SFG
Growing
- Type
- Shrub · Perennial
- Botanical family
- Mixed / other
- Sunlight
- Full sun, with six hours of direct light a day as the minimum.
- Watering
- Weekly until it takes hold, then very little — it is drought-tolerant.
- Feeding
- A low-phosphorus native feed, in spring only.
- Frost tolerant
- Yes
- Flowering
- March
- Pruning
- Tip-prune lightly after flowering, and never cut it hard.
Through the year
- Mar–Mar Bud Break
- Mar–Jun Flowering
- Jun–Dec Fruiting
- Dec–Dec Dormancy
- Jan–Mar Dormancy
Companions
Grevillea, Hakea, Callistemon (Bottlebrush), Lomandra, Kangaroo Paw (Anigozanthos)
Pests & problems
- Scale insects Scale insects on the stems
- Phytophthora root and foot rot Phytophthora root rot, above all where the soil drains badly
- Frost damage Frost damage while the plants are young
- Banksia borer (Agrianome spinicollis) in the stems
Garden allies
Beneficial predators that hunt this plant's pests — grow their favourite flowers nearby to recruit them. companion plant
- Hoverfly SyrphidaeHunts Scale insects
Bee-mimicking flies whose legless larvae graze aphid colonies clean while the adults pollinate. A ribbon of shallow, nectar-rich flowers kept in bloom all season recruits wave after wave of them.
- Ladybird (lady beetle) CoccinellidaeHunts Scale insects
The gardener’s favorite ally: adults and their alligator-shaped larvae each eat thousands of aphids, plus scale, mealybugs, and other soft-bodied sap-suckers. Grow flat, open flowers for the adults and never spray a colony that ladybird larvae are already working.
The Cottage Garden Companion — the gardener's herbarium at cottagegardencompanion.com