Breaking The Banksia

It’s becoming increasingly obvious that we’re finally going to get a banksia flower in the garden.

We’ve had a banksia in the garden from the outset, but yet to get a flower some three years down the track.

And we’ve had plenty of troubles along the way.

In addition to the coastal banksia we started with, we also bought a hairpin banksia last year.

It was a ripper and we grew it in a pot.

It withstood the blistering heat of the summer of 2023, but I planted it too early into the autumn and it withered and died.

We picked up some cheap but very nice birthday candles banksia and another hairpin toward the end of last year, and planted them immediately in the hope that they would make it through the winter.

I also bought a cheap hairpin seedling from Mercari and put it into the ground with the same hope.

And, just in case, I also started trying to grow banksia from seed, one of which worked.

Now, several months later and well into the growing season, our banksia are doing marvelously.

And the little conical buds that denote a flower have appeared on the big hairpin from last winter, as well as on the birthday candles.

The Mercari banksia has sprung skyward.

And the sole seed that made it into becoming a seedling has already outgrown one pit and got me wondering whether I should plant it in the ground or simply into another pot until it gets through the winter and can go into the ground next spring. A delightful dilemma!

Otherwise, while everything else seems as though it’s falling to pieces, and actually is in many ways, our garden is doing well and bringing immense joy.