ISHS Acta Horticulturae 453: IV International Protea Working Group Symposium
SOME MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES FOR GROWING BANKSIA BAXTERI |
| Authors: | C.J. Robinson, M.G. Webb, R.S. Smith, A.L. Morgan, A.F. Fuss |
| Abstract:
Banksia baxteri blooms have been commercially harvested for over twenty years from unmanaged bush stands east of Albany on the south coast of Western Australia. Decline of natural bush and a trend toward managed stands has required landholders to investigate management strategies to improve yield and quality of flowers of selected species. In this experiment, the effects of pruning old B. baxteri plants and of transplanting and fertilizing postfire bush seedlings were examined. Light pruning of eleven year old plants, cut back from the stem tip down to a stem diameter of 7–10 mm produced an increase in total bloom production and a significant increase in the percentage of commercial blooms when compared with unpruned plants in the second year after pruning. Medium and heavy pruning of stems back to a diameter of 14 – 30 mm (or greater) resulted in a 70 % death rate. Postfire seedlings transplanted from natural bush into cleared open ground produced on average 34.3 times more leaves than those plants remaining in bush after two years. Application of fertiliser was found to further enhance the advantage of the transplanted seedlings. A rate of 8.33 gm of NPK fertiliser (15:2.2:16.6) applied every six months near the base of the plant was optimal in increasing plant growth. | |
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