Glorious Banksias
Perfectly sized for your garden
Love a beautiful banksia, but taking sooo much room, which can grow up to 15 metres, new cultivars of dwarf banksias are increasingly coming onto the market to delight all gardeners! Over the past thirty years, many low-growing forms of banksia from seaside locations have been recognised by nurserymen and plant breeders as perfect specimens for the modern garden. Low growing, compact, attractive flowers and bird attracting, they’re a beautiful addition to any garden.
Banksia spinulosa ssp. spinulosa Source
Close-up of Banksia spinulosa ssp. spinulosa source
The vast majority of today’s cultivars are taken from the NSW south coast or somewhere along the coast of Victoria, where they are exposed to the strong coastal winds. The result is that some of the common eastern species, such as those from the Banksia spinulosa complex, Banksia ericifolia and Banksia serrata, tend to grow as dwarf forms.
Dwarf form of Banksia ericifolia Source
Mother Nature’s bonsai of mature Banksia serrata, which normally grow upright to 5 to 6 metres high source
The full wind force of Mother Nature turns them into bonsai-like specimens that remain true to form even if they are cultivated under more benign conditions. Some of the varieties that are subjected to strong headland winds barely even get off the ground.