{"product_id":"banksia-serrata","title":"Old Man Banksia - Banksia serrata","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePrice includes everything:\u003c\/strong\u003e the plant, free delivery and professional installation by our planting team. One price, whole job done.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eOld Man Banksia - Banksia serrata\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFew Australian trees carry as much character per metre as \u003cem\u003eBanksia serrata\u003c\/em\u003e, with its warty grey trunk, crooked limbs and saw toothed leathery leaves. It is the banksia of east coast sandstone country, and a mature specimen looks weathered and old long before it actually is. Landscape architects specify it where a tree needs to look like it belongs to the site rather than to a nursery, and where a genuinely low water, low maintenance canopy is required.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch4\u003eWhy Old Man Banksia\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSculptural trunk\u003c\/strong\u003e: The thick, corky, fissured bark is fire adapted and gives a gnarled character no fast growing tree can imitate.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eLong flowering\u003c\/strong\u003e: Large greenish cream cylindrical spikes appear from late summer into winter, feeding honeyeaters and lorikeets.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eWoody cones\u003c\/strong\u003e: Spent flower spikes harden into the follicle studded cones that generations of Australian children have known as banksia men.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSand and salt tolerance\u003c\/strong\u003e: It grows naturally on coastal dunes and sandstone, and shrugs off salt laden wind that ruins most exotics.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSerious drought hardiness\u003c\/strong\u003e: Once the root system is down it needs no supplementary water in most of its climate range.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch4\u003eIdeal Applications\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCoastal garden canopy\u003c\/strong\u003e: One of the few small trees that will hold a good canopy in exposed, sandy, salt affected front gardens.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eHabitat and bird planting\u003c\/strong\u003e: Nectar rich flowers and seed cones make it a keystone plant in a wildlife focused garden.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBush regeneration and native theme\u003c\/strong\u003e: Pairs naturally with grass trees, casuarinas, lomandra and dwarf banksias on sandy sites.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eLow water feature tree\u003c\/strong\u003e: A single specimen in gravel or crushed sandstone mulch works as living sculpture in a waterwise courtyard.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch4\u003eSpecimen \u0026amp; Installation\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSpacing (screening\/hedge):\u003c\/strong\u003e 3 to 4m for an informal native windbreak\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSpacing (feature\/avenue):\u003c\/strong\u003e 6 to 8m\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBest Planting Season:\u003c\/strong\u003e Autumn in warm districts, or early spring in cold ones, so roots establish before summer heat\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSoil \u0026amp; Drainage:\u003c\/strong\u003e Sandy or gravelly, sharply drained and low in phosphorus; heavy wet clay is the fastest way to lose one\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eEstablishment Care:\u003c\/strong\u003e Water weekly through the first summer only, then step back, because banksias resent constant moisture at the collar. Mulch with coarse leaf litter or gravel rather than manure, and use only low phosphorus native fertiliser if feeding at all.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch4\u003ePlant Details\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eHeight:\u003c\/strong\u003e 5 to 12m in cultivation, taller on favourable coastal sites\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eWidth:\u003c\/strong\u003e 4 to 6m\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eGrowth Rate:\u003c\/strong\u003e Slow to moderate\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFoliage:\u003c\/strong\u003e Evergreen\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eLight:\u003c\/strong\u003e Full sun\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNative to:\u003c\/strong\u003e Coastal and near coastal eastern Australia, from south east Queensland through New South Wales to Victoria and Tasmania\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFlower Colour:\u003c\/strong\u003e Grey green in bud, opening cream to pale yellow\n\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Nursery Direct","offers":[{"title":"400mm","offer_id":59795293896990,"sku":"ND-0200-400MM","price":800.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"75L","offer_id":59795293929758,"sku":"ND-0200-75L","price":1025.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"100L","offer_id":59795293962526,"sku":"ND-0200-100L","price":1400.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"500mm","offer_id":59795293995294,"sku":"ND-0200-500MM","price":900.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"200L","offer_id":59795294028062,"sku":"ND-0200-200L","price":3525.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1000\/2536\/8862\/files\/tlmeeMbnr_rY8Gi0BgVJF_uSFBWJ4x.jpg?v=1787312923","url":"https:\/\/nurserydirect.com.au\/products\/banksia-serrata","provider":"Nursery Direct","version":"1.0","type":"link"}