I have just had the first flowering of a seed grown plant of Banksia coccinea. It is about 4 years old and 1.5 metres high now with several flowering stems branching from low down on the main stem. It is a fairly light red at this first flowering but will hopefully darken up and get more intense as it gets older and the plant gets bigger – as I have noticed this happen with other Banksias growing here.

The flower starts out a furry bud with a fairly dull blue/purple tinge and then the distinct stripes develop as the stamens pop open.

It is a tricky West Australian Banksia to grow and keep healthy in a cool climate like we have here in the Blue Mountains, but it seems ok so far growing on a raised gravel bed surrounded by large river stones to attract and reflect heat. The bed has a good western exposure and collects sun and heat for most of the year. It also seems to like the protection and environment given by the surrounding plants such as Xanthorrhoea, Dianella, Lomandra and other grass like plants growing around it.

Nectar eating birds seem to like visiting it now in mid winter.

We have had the warmest Mid Winter July on record for 150 years in Eastern Australia so i’m guessing this may have contributed to the fast flower development. We had a cold snap with a touch or waft of snow in mid June but this does not seem to have affected the flowering at all.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banksia_coccinea