2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Banksia (Latin Banksia) - a flowering evergreen plant belonging to the Protein family. Banksia got its name in honor of the famous explorer of the richest Australian flora, Joseph Banks.
Description
Banksia is a small shrub or tree of average (from thirty to fifty centimeters) or rather large (up to twenty to thirty meters) height with very hard leaves of the most diverse shapes. Below these leaves are white-tomentose-pubescent, and along the edges - prickly-toothed.
Small flowers of Banksia have a rather peculiar structure and gather in rather dense and dense spikelets, each of which has from five hundred to a thousand flowers. And the shape of these flowers, depending on the type of banksia, can vary from highly cylindrical to almost spherical. It is noteworthy that many species of this plant are able to bloom throughout the year.
The flattened dry fruits of Banksia are equipped with two hard (often woody) leaves. In general, the seedlings of this plant have an external resemblance to the cones of conifers.
In total, this genus includes about one hundred and seventy species.
Where grows
Banksia is quite widespread on the Australian coast, from Tasmania to the northern territory. Occasionally it can be seen far from the ocean. And tropical banksia can also be found on the Aru Islands, as well as in New Guinea.
Usage
In floristry, banksia is widely used to compose a wide variety of compositions and as a dried flower. It has proven itself especially well in contrast to shiny smooth surfaces and various lines. And the silver-gray plants look great in Christmas arrangements! In the cut, banksia can easily stand up to two weeks.
Banksia is also grown in gardens with greenhouses, and a number of special dwarf varieties have been bred for lovers of indoor floriculture.
Growing and caring
In nature, Banksia thrives on poor soils of endless sandy deserts. This plant is perfectly adapted to both drought and sudden daily temperature changes, so that even in indoor conditions it is quite acceptable to create conditions for her that are as identical as possible to those of her homeland.
Since Banksia is very photophilous, it is best to place it on light east or west windows. And with the onset of summer, when the thermometer rises above twenty degrees, it is recommended to take the beautiful plant to the loggia or to the garden. With regard to winter temperatures, the most optimal temperature for keeping Banksia in winter will be in the range of five to ten degrees Celsius.
Banksia should be planted in fairly spacious pots, which must be stable. As for the composition of the soil, ideally it should consist of taken in equal amounts of sand, as well as humus, sod and heather land. You can also prepare a substrate consisting of two parts of sand (it must be coarse), from one part of sphagnum moss (coarsely chopped) and from one part of perlite.
This beauty is quite undemanding for watering, the most important thing is to make sure that the earthen lump does not dry out too much. It will be enough to moisturize Banksia once a week. You should not deny her systematic spraying - they help to significantly revive this plant. And the water for irrigation should ideally be slightly acidified and soft enough.
From spring to autumn, the plant must be fed with good mineral fertilizers with a relatively low phosphate content.
Banksia should be transplanted annually, doing this until it grows to a meter - after that, transplanting is carried out a year later, in the spring, at the same time replacing the upper soil layer with a fresh one. And the reproduction of this beauty occurs either by seeds or by lignified cuttings.
