Banksia Giant Candles

Banksia 'Giant Candles' (Banksia 'Giant Candles') is the bird magnet for a fast native screen. It grows to about 4.5m tall and 3m wide with dense fine foliage from low down, and through the cooler months it carries upright orange flower spikes up to 40cm long. Honeyeaters work them all winter, which is the main reason people plant it near a window.

Why you'll love it

• Flower spikes to 40cm. A hybrid of the heath banksia and the hairpin banksia, it inherits the long orange candles and flowers heavily from a young age.
• Birds and pollinators. Honeyeaters, lorikeets and native bees all feed on it, and the flowering runs through the leanest months of the year.
• Fast cover. It reaches screening height in two to three seasons, faster than most natives of the same size.
• Made for hard sites. Frost hardy, drought tolerant, salt tolerant and happy in poor sandy soil, so exposed coastal blocks suit it.

Where it works best

Screening and hedging. Plant 2m apart for a bird attracting screen. At that spacing the canopies meet without crowding, and the plants keep their foliage right down to the base.

Coastal gardens and windbreaks. Salt tolerance and a flexible frame make it a genuine front line plant. A staggered row at 2m filters wind rather than taking it head on.

Feature planting. A single plant near a path or window turns into a viewing point through winter, when the flower spikes are at their heaviest.

Growing Banksia 'Giant Candles' in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun, and plenty of air movement. It suits subtropical, warm temperate, cool temperate and Mediterranean gardens, and is frost hardy once established. Constant tropical humidity is the one situation it dislikes.

Soil. Sandy, gravelly and poor soils are ideal. Drainage matters far more than fertility, so on clay plant on a raised mound and skip the heavy compost.

Water and feed. Water weekly through the first summer, then only in prolonged dry spells. Use a low phosphorus native fertiliser or none at all, because standard garden fertilisers can kill banksias outright.

Pruning. Tip prune from planting and trim lightly after flowering to keep it dense. Never cut back into bare old wood, since it does not reliably reshoot from there.

What to expect when it arrives

It is grown as tubestock, in 140mm pots sold in packs of ten, and as single 300mm plants. Tubes and 140mm plants are young, often ankle to knee height, and are the value choice for a long boundary because banksias establish better when planted small. A 300mm plant gives you a season or so head start.

Foliage may look a little tired after transit and will recover once it is in the ground. Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95, and every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee. Expect the first serious flowering in the second or third year.

Plant care guides and related reading

• The complete banksia care guide
• Browse the full banksia range
• More bird attracting plants
• Compare Australian native shrubs

Common questions

How far apart should I plant it for a screen?

2m apart in a single row. Closer than that and the lower branches shade each other out, which is how a banksia screen ends up bare at the bottom.

When does it flower?

Mainly through autumn and winter into early spring, which is why it is so valuable to birds. Established plants carry spikes over a long season rather than in one short burst.

What fertiliser should I use?

A native blend low in phosphorus, or nothing. Banksias are adapted to poor soils and standard high phosphorus fertilisers damage the roots.

Can I keep it smaller than 4.5m?

Yes, with light trimming after each flowering to hold it around 2.5m to 3m. Keep the cuts in leafy growth, because hard pruning into old wood usually kills the branch.