{"product_id":"banksia-little-pal-banksia-paludosa-little-pal","title":"Banksia Little Pal - Banksia paludosa Little Pal","description":"\u003cp\u003eMost banksias want a fence line of room, but this dwarf selection of Banksia paludosa stays low and mounded, so Banksia Little Pal fits in a pot, a rockery pocket or the front of a native border and never needs cutting back to stay in bounds. The leaves are short and stiff, deep green on top and pale underneath, set closely along the stems, and from autumn into early winter it carries stocky golden yellow flower spikes, opening from orange brown buds, which sit close in among the foliage instead of standing out above it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSet your expectations by that habit. The spikes are smaller and quieter than the long candles of the big shrub banksias, and a plant this compact carries fewer of them, so what you are really buying is a tidy evergreen shape for most of the year with a modest cool season display. Small honeyeaters still find the flowers, but this is a structure plant first and a bird feeder second.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eNot the other swamp banksia\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eBanksia paludosa is often called swamp banksia, and so is Banksia robur, which is why the two get mixed up. The plant listed here as \u003ca href=\"\/products\/swamp-banksia-banksia-robur\"\u003eSwamp Banksia\u003c\/a\u003e is the robur species, a coarse, large leaved shrub that tolerates wet ground. Little Pal is a much finer textured plant with different needs. The species name comes from the Latin for marshy, but the name misleads. In the wild Banksia paludosa grows mostly in heath, open woodland and forest on well drained sandstone soils in central and south eastern New South Wales, and few populations are in swamps, so grow it in free draining ground that never stays wet. At the other end of the scale, \u003ca href=\"\/products\/banksia-giant-candles-banksia-giant-candles\"\u003eBanksia Giant Candles\u003c\/a\u003e is a large screening shrub grown for spikes several times the length of these. Plants to set around it in a native border are in \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/natives\"\u003eAustralian Native Plants\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eGetting the pot and the soil right\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn the coast it can take sun all day; inland, shade from early afternoon saves the leaves in a heatwave. Under a tree canopy it grows sparse and sets few spikes. In a garden bed it wants sandy or gravelly soil, and on clay a pot is the simpler answer than rebuilding the ground. In a container, use a free draining native potting mix, a pot with generous drainage holes and pot feet so it never stands in a saucer. Potted plants dry out much faster than plants in the ground, so check them every few days through summer and water when the top few centimetres feel dry, rather than on a fixed schedule.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eFeeding and trimming a dwarf banksia\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003ePhosphorus is the hidden risk, and in pots it often arrives in the bag of mix. Many general potting mixes and controlled release fertilisers carry more phosphorus than a banksia's fine roots can handle, so read the label and choose products marked as suitable for natives or phosphorus sensitive plants. Feed lightly in spring at most; a plant that is growing slowly and flowering is not asking for more. A pale, sulking plant in a pot is far more often waterlogged or overfed than starved.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLittle pruning is needed. Snip off spent spikes after flowering if you prefer a cleaner look, and tip back any shoot that spoils the outline. Watch for scale on the stems of potted plants, and for root rot in containers that stay wet through winter.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3 class=\"pd-size-guidance\"\u003eChoosing a size\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis plant is supplied in one size, 25L, at $439.00 per plant. The size shown is the pot it arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/news\/australian-native-trees-for-shade\"\u003eAustralian native trees\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Plant Drop","offers":[{"title":"25L","offer_id":67672140218737,"sku":null,"price":439.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1017\/1049\/6113\/files\/banksia-little-pal-banksia-paludosa-little-pal.jpg?v=1791524503","url":"https:\/\/plantdrop.com.au\/products\/banksia-little-pal-banksia-paludosa-little-pal","provider":"Plant Drop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}