Banksias Can Easily Be Propagated From Seeds

Banksias Can Easily Be Propagated From Seeds

Banksias are Australian wildflowers and garden plants that have flower spikes and fruiting cones and heads. You will find them in Australian gardens in the form of shrubs but they can also grow to trees that can be as much as a hundred feet tall.

You can easily propagate them from banksia seeds that you get from the plants as long as you have access to the cones that you will find on mature shrubs. Place the cone in an oven set to 130 degrees Centigrade for about an hour. This will result in the follicles on the cone opening and will give access to the seeds. Every follicle will have two black-winged seeds and a separator. Insects can lay their eggs in the flower buds of banksias and their larvae can feed on the seeds. You can detect this when you find a hole in the fruit, and these seeds will not germinate. Seeds sown mustn’t be allowed to dry out. They must be sown in a seed raising mix that is properly drained. Germination of the seeds takes anywhere between 14 to 60 days and will depend on the species. Some banksia seeds require exposure to lower temperatures.

Once the seeds have grown into seedlings these must be transplanted as soon as the leaves appear. The soil that is best for these seedlings must have river sand, loam, and leaf mold, as this mix is considered the most suitable. Seedlings can be prone to fungal attacks and that is why the mix in which the seeds are being raised must be sterilized.

Banksia seeds can be eaten as long as you avoid the spikes that they come with. Also, other parts like the flower spikes, nectar from the flower, and the white base of the leaves are edible. Leaves can make tea if they are steeped in water but require an acquired taste. The leaves of banksias are also used in the weaving of baskets. It is recommended that you restrict your seed collection from your banksias plants to not more than 10 percent of the plant and allow the plant to go through its own natural process of propagation.

Seeds are the most common form of propagation for banksias and are used also by professional nurserymen as well as home gardeners. They do not always lead to producing plants. The seeds can be stored for years if properly kept in dry and friendly conditions. You can also grow banksias from stem cuttings but is not a very popular process.

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