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what can you tell me about banksias/
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Posted by jancol CQ Aust (My Page) on Mon, Apr 24, 06 at 4:27
Hi all
I have a white banksia rose and apparently I am not allowed to prune it until after it flowers or is it after three years? I also thought I had a yellow one but because it got so bushy I kept cutting it back so it has never flowered. Has anyone had much experience with banksias? Are they once only flowerers, How high do they grow and are they worth the trouble? Thanks Jan |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: what can you tell me about banksias/
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Hi Jan,
I have an arch with a Banksia rose on each side. One yellow, one white. The yellow one is a rampant thug of a plant and needs pruning what seems like every five minutes. The white one is painfully slow. The yellow is spectacular in bloom but it is over in a blaze of glory whereas the white one has a lot less in the numbers but blooms for a MUCH longer time. I am thinking of getting rid of the yellow one and putting something else on that side. |
RE: what can you tell me about banksias/
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Jan, both white and yellow banksia roses flower once in spring and, as far as I know, you prune them after flowering. Sometimes it's best to leave pruning a climber for a few years until it reaches the required height.
I'd never appreciated the white banksia until I moved to the mountains where there are some really spectacular ones, so maybe it likes the cold. I'm not fond of the yellow one though as it doesn't seem to be the right yellow in relation to the foliage. It looks ok up against a dark background, but out in the open, such as over an archway, I never think the flowers show up enough.
You ask if they are worth the trouble. I would say banksia roses are trouble free, but then, so are a lot of climbing roses. If you don't like them, don't be afraid to pull them out and replace them. I always think roses are cheap to buy but expensive to look after, so why look after a rose that disappoints. There are plenty of other roses which will give you many more flowers over a much longer period. |
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