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Banksia aemula

Banksia aemula

Edibility
2/5
Medicinal
0/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Shrub
Growth—

Banksia aemula is found in the warm temperate and sub tropical zones of eastern Australia, where it also just enteres into the tropical zone. It can tolerate short-lived frosts, possibly to as low as -5°c[1]. Requires a sunny position and a light, well-drained soil[1]. Tolerant of salt-laden winds[1]. The plant grows in areas where bushfires naturally occur at fairly frequent intervals. It has evolved mechanisms to allow it to survive this. Firstly, it has a thick bark that can insulate it from less intense fires; it can regrow from epicormic shoots, developing along the trunk about a week after the fire[2]. In addition, the heat of a fire stimulates the seeds to be shed from the 'cone', allowing the seeds to germinate and become established in the newly cleared soil[2, 3].

Propagation

Seed - surface sow in an ericaceous compost as soon as the seed is ripe or as soon as it is obtained and do not exclude light. Seal the pot in a plastic bag until germination takes place, which can take 1 - 3 months or more at 20°c[4]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, mid summer in sand in a frame[5]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Banksia+aemula>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

  1. [1]Growing Native Plants — Australian National Botanic Gardens · http://www.anbg.gov.au/gnp/ ↩︎A series of articles giving details of cultivation and matters of general interest (including a few plant uses) on over 250 Australian plants.
  2. [2]Flora of Australia — http://www.anbg.gov.au/abrs/abif/flora/ ↩︎The full information from the Flora of Australia - on-line. An excellent resource.
  3. [3]Australian Native Plants Society — http://anpsa.org.au/index.html ↩︎A series of fact sheets on Australian plants. Good photographs, brief description and information on uses, habitat, range, cultivation etc.
  4. [4]Growing from Seed. Volume 2. — Rice. G. (Editor) · Thompson and Morgan. · 1988 · ISBN - ↩︎Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. An interesting article on Ensete ventricosum.
  5. [5]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  6. [6]Wild Food Plants of Australia. — Low. T. · Angus and Robertson. · 1989 · ISBN 0-207-14383-8 ↩︎Well presented, clear information and good photographs. An interesting read for the casual reader as well as the enthusiast
  7. [7]The Useful Native Plants of Australia. — Maiden J.H. · Turner & Co.; London. · 1889 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org ↩︎Terse details of the uses of many Australian plants and other species naturalised, or at least growing, in Australia. It can be downloaded from the Internet.