Re: Banksia

I would be very cautious about planting out such a
large expensive specimen.  In my own experience of
planting several here in Moss Beach, California as
just small 2 gallons, they are fairly easy to kill if
the conditions aren't right.  I had thought that
planting on a mounded slope with well amended fast
draining soil mix to compensate for the rich black
clay native soil would be enough;  They died within a
year, while 2 out of 3  equally sensitive Silver
Trees, L. argenteum are thriving.  I would think it
much safer to plant out a smaller sized plant and give
it the conditions it wants. They are particularly
beautiful specimens at UC Santa Cruz which really
stand out in the landscape, and are not small trees. 
The natural sandstone based  soils at the botanic
gardens and the cool breazy coastal conditions seem to
suit them perfectly, as it does almost all the South
African and Australian Proteacea in the gardens.  

If the planting soil is fractured rock, or a gritty
loam well drained and not loaded down with phosphorus
from previous fertilizers, and you handle the watering
carefully this summer, you may keep it alive.  I am
not sure if this species is root sensitive to summer
water at warm temperatures as some of the Protea
family are, and should only be watered under cooler
soil conditions to avoid disease problems.


		
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