Banksia occidentalis subsp. formosa – Red Swamp Banksia

A medium shrub with narrow, recurved leaves with few teeth, lime green buds and showy red-pink and orange flower spikes, and smooth bark. This shrub form of the species grows to about 1.5 – 2m high and 2 – 3m wide and prefers seasonally damp positions along creeklines, around swamps and dams, and in a garden setting with some extra summer watering. It flowers in summer and autumn and attracts honeyeaters to feed on the nectar. It is quite fast growing and is moderately drought and frost tolerant. It prefers sandy soils, often found near swamps with paperbarks, but adapts to gravelly loams in cooler areas. Soils include sand, sandy loam, loam, peaty loam and gravelly loam. Origin – South Coast.