Frost Tolerant Banksias
I thought I would research Banksia species which are suitable for areas where frost is an issue. Some species are frost tolerant once they are established.
Frost Tolerant Banksias
Species without any notation are known to be frost tolerant. Some species are not listed because I have not found reliable information about the frost tolerance.
Banksia aculeata (light to moderate frost)
Banksia ashbyi (tolerant when established)
Banksia attenuata (tolerant when established)
Banksia audax
Banksia baueri (woolly Banksia, Possum Banksia) (tolerant when established)
Banksia baxteri (Birds-nest Banksia) (tolerant when established)
Banksia blechnifolia (light to moderate frost)
Banksia brownii (when established)
Banksia burdettii (when established)
Banksia caleyi (when established)
Banksia candolleana
Banksia dentata
Banksia elderiana (Swordfish Banksia)
Banksia elegans
Banksia grandis (Bull Banksia)
Banksia hookerana (Acorn Banksia)
Banksia laevigata
Banksia lanata
Banksia lemanniana
Banksia leptophylla (tolerates light frost)
Banksia lindleyana (Porcupine Banksia)
Banksia lullfitzii
Banksia marginata (Silver Banksia)
Banksia media (Golden Stalk, Southern Plains Banksia)
Banksia meisneri (moderate frost tolerance)
Banksia menziesii (Firewood Banksia)
Banksia nutans (Nodding Banksia)
Banksia occidentalis (Red swamp Banksia) (Tolerates light frost)
Banksia oreophila
Banksia petiolaris
Banksia pilostylis
Banksia praemorsa (Cut Leaf Banksia)
Banksia prionotes (Acorn Banksia)
Banksia repens (Creeping Banksia)
Banksia robur (Swamp Banksia)
Banksia saxicola
Banksia scabrella (tolerates light frost)
Banksia sceptrum (Sceptre Banksia)
Banksia speciosa (Showy Banksia)
Banksia sphaerocarpa (Round -fruited Banksia)
Banksia tricuspis
Frost and Seaweed Products
Theoretically, the frost finishes tomorrow until the next bout! Another beauty today had me trying twice to get out of our driveway without the windscreen icing over.
Yet everything that I am growing is looking ok, amazingly. I must say that I have a ‘nasty suspicious nature’ when I read such things as ‘frost tolerant, drought tolerant, lime tolerant’ etc. Until I have the evidence for myself, I am always wary of other people’s assessment of these qualities. Unless I know the geography of the area where a species naturally grows! Or I know the climate of a particular nursery eg. one from an area of high frequency of frosts that come with very low temperatures.
I have read various claims about seaweed type products improving the frost tolerance of young plants. Having read it, I thought I would deliberately try the products, not only for their usefulness in settling in new transplants but for this quality as well. I cannot say that I have set up a very scientific system of measuring this. I am more interested from the point of view of a home gardener as well as a nursery grower so it will be purely anecdotal.
Frost Hardy Plants
This is the coldest winter we have had for a few years. Recently there have been 5 frosts in a row and this seems to be the pattern. Apart from 7.5mm last Friday there has been no rain so the potential for damage to plants is increasing as this dry weather continues.
It is a standing joke amongst Australian native plant growers that if it will survive in Canberra during the winter, it will survive anywhere. When we first moved here, the small publications published by the National Botanic Gardens were a bench mark for frost hardy plants.
Many more plant species have been available since these books were first published (from 1971), so the original list is quite small in comparison with what is known today.
The plants listed in Volume 1 are as follows:
Banksia ericifolia (Heath leaved Banksia)
Banksia marginata (Silver Banksia)
Banksia spinulosa (Hairpin Banksia)
Banksia serrata (Saw Banksia)
Banksia integrifolia (Coastal Banksia)
Banksia media
Banksia robur
Banksia baxteri
Eriostemon myoporoides (now Philotheca myoporoides) Long-leaved Wax Flower
Melaleuca wilsonnii (Wilson’s Honey Myrtle)
Isopogon anemonifolius (Drumsticks)
Goodia lotifolia (Golden Tip)
Acacia drummondii (Drummond’s Wattle) -needs protection from frost until about a metre tall.
Indigofera australis (Austral Indigo)
Grevillea baueri
Hypocalymma angustifolium (Pink-flowered Myrtle)
Boronia heterophylla
Melaleuca incana (Grey Honey Myrtle)
Micromyrtus ciliata (Fringed Heath Myrtle)
Westringea fruticosa (Coastal Rosemary
Thryptomene calycina (Grampians Heath Myrtle)
I will add to this list later and find more cultivation information.