Scarlet Banksia

~ Banksia coccinea ~

PROTEACEAE

Yet another beautifully packaged bloom from Noongar Country in Western Australia, the Scarlet Banksia is an important species to the Albany coast, providing food for our beloved Honey Possum (Tarsipes rostratus) as well as local honey-eating and seed-snacking birds. It also provides pollen and nectar for the Banksia Bee (Hylaeus alcyoneus). Here we can see the Scarlet Banksia hanging out with one of its key visitors – the male Western Spinebill (Acanthorhynchus superciliosus). The flowers are a big star in gardens and floral arrangements across the country with their extended flowering season and long-life as a cut flower.

WHERE TO LOOK

This Noongar resident can be found on sandy soils in tall shrubland and low woodlands, from the Albany coast to the Stirling Range in Western Australia.

Locations → WA: Stirling Range National Park, Albany, Kings Park and Botanic Garden, Fitzgerald River National Park and Mount Martin Regional Botanic Park.

FEATURES

The Scarlet Banksia is a multi-stemmed shrub with furry branches. It grows up to 4m tall in cultivation and up to 8m in its wild homelands. Its hard-leaved foliage is leathery and grows 5–10cm long and 4–8cm wide. The real show-stopper is its cylindrical flower heads measuring 6–12cm long and 6–15cm wide that contain around 280 small flowers arranged along each spike. Interestingly, the flowers are actually white, covered in a greyish fur, so it’s the plastic-looking red styles that give the flowers their prominent colouring. They can also be seen in orange and, rarely, golden yellow. The woody fruit are greyish cylindrical cones to 10cm long and contain many small seed capsules inside, which split open to release two winged seeds. Unlike some other Banksias, the plant does not contain a lignotuber, so it can die with fire, but the seeds will still germinate.

FLOWERING SEASON

Winter to summer → The Scarlet Banksia has a long flowering season, with its red blooms seen from May to December, with a spike during spring.

PLANTING

This fast-growing, unique plant is suited to dry temperate climates and will need well-draining, sandy and gravelly soil and to be planted in full sun. It’s prone to root rot in humid climates so take preventative measures such as using raised beds or special Proteaceae potting mix.