Banksia Cherry Candles

Banksia Cherry Candles (Banksia spinulosa 'Cherry Candles') is a compact hairpin banksia that holds at about 1.2m tall and 1.5m wide, low enough to sit at the front of a bed. Through the cooler months it carries upright red and orange flower spikes that honeyeaters work over daily. It is the easiest way to get a banksia into a normal suburban garden.

Why you'll love it

• Compact enough for a small garden. At 1.2m by 1.5m it is a shrub, not a tree, and it stays that way without pruning to keep it there.
• It flowers when little else does. Red and orange candles through the cooler months, when the garden most needs colour.
• A honeyeater magnet. Nectar rich spikes at eye level draw birds, native bees and butterflies close enough to watch.
• Tough where it counts. Frost hardy, drought tolerant, salt tolerant and perfectly content in poor sandy soil.

Where it works best

Mass planting and borders. Plant 1m apart for a low mass planting or a run along a border. At that spacing the shrubs meet without crowding one another out.

Coastal gardens and pots. Salt tolerance suits an exposed seaside garden, and the compact size makes this one of the few banksias that genuinely works in a large container.

Feature planting. A single plant beside a path shows the spikes off far better than a tall banksia flowering above head height.

Growing Banksia Cherry Candles in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun for the heaviest flowering, since it flowers thinly in shade. It suits subtropical, warm temperate and cool temperate gardens and is frost hardy once established.

Soil. Sandy, gravelly or otherwise sharply drained soil, and it prefers it lean. Heavy clay is the one thing it will not forgive, so plant on a raised mound if that is what you have.

Water and feed. Water weekly through the first summer, then it manages on rainfall in most districts. Avoid phosphorus rich fertiliser, which damages banksia roots. A low phosphorus native feed in early spring is all it needs, and nothing at all is also a fair answer.

Pruning. Tip prune lightly after flowering to keep the shrub dense, taking the spent cones if you prefer a tidy look. Avoid hard cuts back into bare leafless wood.

What to expect when it arrives

This banksia is sold as tube stock. Tubes are small young plants, and for banksias that is an advantage rather than a compromise: the fine roots go straight into your soil without the check a large pot bound plant suffers, so establishment is faster and more reliable. Expect a filled shrub in two to three seasons and first flowers within two.

Plant tubes into free draining ground, water them in well and do not feed at planting. Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95 and a minimum order of $300 before delivery. Every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Read the complete banksia care guide.
• Compare varieties in the banksia collection.
• Browse other bird attracting plants.
• See more Australian native shrubs.

Common questions

How far apart should I plant it for a mass planting?

Space plants 1m apart. Each shrub reaches about 1.5m wide, so at 1m centres they knit into a continuous low block without shading each other out at the base.

What fertiliser can I use?

Low phosphorus native fertiliser only, applied lightly in early spring. Standard garden and lawn fertilisers carry enough phosphorus to damage banksia roots, sometimes fatally.

Will it grow in clay soil?

Not as it stands. Build a raised mound of free draining sandy mix at least 300mm high and plant into that, or grow it in a large pot where you control the medium.