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Banksia baxteri (Birds Nest Banksia) - Dense spreading shrub to 6-9 feet tall and nearly as wide with new reddish stems and 4 to 6 inch long blunt-tipped leaves with deep triangular lobes to the midrib that are slightly prickly on margins and hairy on the undersides. The terminal 2 to 5 inch globular to dome-shaped greenish-yellow flower heads appear from early summer to late winter and are followed by attractive seed pods.
Plant in full to part sun in light or in well-draining, heavy soil. Has proven to be drought tolerant and fairly frost hardy once established (protect young plants). Good specimen plant or for an informal hedge or windbreak. Grown commercially for cut flowers. The foliage and flowers of this plant are used in the Australian cut-flower trade where it has been found that the plant responds well to light pruning but not to pruning of older heavier stems much over 1/2" inch thick.
Banksia baxteri grows naturally in deep sandy soil in coastal regions of southern Western Australia. The name for the genus is one given by Carolus Linnaeus to honor the English botanist Sir Joseph Banks, who was on Captain James Cook's first expedition to Australia and collected the first Banksia specimens in 1770. The specific epithet honors William Baxter, who first collected the plant by in the mountains near King George Sound in 1829.
We thank Jo O'Connell at Australian Native Plants for introducing us to this plant that we grew from 2004 until 2010 and for providing the image on this page.
Information displayed on this page about Banksia baxteri is based on our research conducted about this plant in our nursery library as well as from information provided by reliable online resources. We also include our own observations made about it as it has grown in the nursery gardens and other gardens visited, as well how the crops of this plant performed in the containers in our nursery field. We will also include comments received from others and welcome hearing from anyone who has information about this plant, particularly if it includes cultural information aiding others to better grow it.
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