PlantFiles: Coastal Banksia
Banksia integrifolia

Very easy plant to grow. Originally grows on sandy soils on the Australian east coast (acid soils), but is happy in alkaline and clay soils as well.
A little bit too hardy - there have been reports of weediness in New Zealand, and certainly some seedlings popping up in WA and South Africa, so keep an eye out.

I planted this in my garden in Perth, West Australia. It is doing fantastically well (7m high) and attracts lots of birds. It does well in very alkaline soils - along the coast here we have a huge problem with limestone and other plants cannot tolerate the alkalinity. It also handles very strong winds well, sometimes very hot, dry winds in summer.

This lovely tree is common around the coast of eastern Victoria and New South Wales, in Australia. It frequently grows in sand dunes behind the beach and grows into a tall dense tree, of up to 25 metres. The leaves are dark green and unlike most Banksias, do not have a toothed margin, hence the name integrifolia. It does have toothed leaves for the first few years, but these are gradually replaced as the tree grows. They are extremely attractive to honeyeaters and when in flower are always full of birds, especially the Little Wattlebird.
Unlike most Banksias, this species sheds its seeds each year. That means that the seed is much easier to extract from the cones, but one does have to locate them before they are shed.
I have grown them from seed for display in our local park and I have one well established in my garden. Grown from seed, it is now over 2 metres tall and I am hoping that it will soon produce its first flowers.