Costa visits the new Banksia Garden at the Australian National Botanic Gardens and discovers the wondrous diversity and beauty of these classic Aussie plants. Subscribe 🔔 http://ab.co/GA-subscribe
The iconic banksia is on full display at the Australian National Botanic Gardens 50th Anniversary Banksia Garden in Canberra. The layout has been carefully designed for visitors to enjoy the large collection while ongoing research takes place.

The collection is divided into species from Western Australia on one side and eastern Australia on the other as they have different soil requirements. The western species are in beds built up with a well-draining mix of sandstone and ash with minimal organic matter, whilst the rest are planted direct into the soil and watered more often.

The layout also helps to showcase the differences in form and colour. Horticulturist Janine Baines says “There’s a lot more variety among the western species than there is among the eastern, probably because there’s a wider variety of habitats that they live in. So you’ll get really vibrant colours” such as the reds and pinks of Banksia menziesii and bright orange of Banksia ashbyi. The eastern flowers are more subdued in the yellow to orange colour range.

The foliage is also different, with western species tending towards grey-green leaves and many eastern leaves being glossy green on the top surface.

Importance of Fire:
The garden includes a display of burnt banksia cones to tell the story of how fire is an integral part of their lifecycle. “Banksias rely on fire to germinate seed. Some banksias have a lignotuber as well which assists them to survive fire so they will grow back from that so they’re not just relying on seed.”

Grafting:
Even with the extensive efforts to create a suitable environment in Canberra, some species come from such a narrow habitat range that they still can’t survive here. So the team have been experimenting with grafting plants such as Banksia brownii from a small region around Albany, WA grafted onto the eastern Banksia integrifolia rootstock. They will be gradually replacing some of the other tricky species with grafted plants so they will have a better chance of survival long-term.

Home growing:
Janine says the easiest option for choosing a banksia for your home garden is “going to your local nursery, seeing what occurs locally to you then you’re not really going to have to do any work to the soil.”

Groundcover varieties such as Banksia petiolaris and Banksia blechnifolia are also great for smaller spaces or pots and are readily available. Or there’s the “bombproof” staple varieties of ‘Birthday Candles’ or ‘Cherry Candles’ that are an easy place to start and will do well in most gardens as long as they get some summer water.

The team is also working towards releasing grafted specimens for sale to the public that suit a wider variety of sites whilst retaining the beautiful diversity of flowers and foliage from around the country.

Featured Plants:
FIREWOOD BANKSIA - Banksia menziesii
ASHBY'S BANKSIA - Banksia ashbyi
COAST BANKSIA - Banksia integrifolia
HEATH-LEAVED BANKSIA - Banksia ericifolia
CREEPING BANKSIA - Banksia petiolaris
FERN-LIKE BANKSIA - Banksia blechnifolia

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