WateringTimesWatering plan, $19
Banksia menziesii, WUCOLS IV

How often to water firewood banksia in California

In July on the north-central coast, established firewood banksia in loam needs a deep soak only about once a month or less: about 8.8 gallons each time for a plant 4 feet across. Firewood banksia is an evergreen shrub or small tree from sandy woodlands of Western Australia, varying from 6 to 25 feet tall. Its oblong, wavy, toothed leaves are gray-green with rusty brown undersides. Fat, conelike heads of reddish pink, orange or golden flowers open at the branch tips in fall and winter. It is a good seaside plant that needs drainage more than water.

ShrubRated for 2 of 6 zones

How often to water firewood banksia, month by month

Your city
Plant width
4 ft
Your soil

Type your city above and the days between waterings and the gallons appear here, worked out from your city's climate table. Or read the figures by climate zone further down.

Every month, on your water days. The personal plan prints this for firewood banksia and the rest of your yard, on the days your water supplier allows.Get the plan for $19

How this is worked out: established roots fill the top 1.5 feet of soil, and you water again when that soil has dried halfway. Loam soil holds about 1.5 inches of water per foot. Water the whole area the plant covers, and skip a watering after a good soaking rain.

Which soil do you have?

Dig down a few inches, take a handful of moist soil and squeeze it.

  • Sandy: gritty, falls apart when you open your hand, will not form a ball.
  • Loam: forms a soft ball that crumbles when you poke it.
  • Clay: forms a firm, sticky ball and squeezes out into a ribbon between thumb and finger.

Still not sure? Pick loam. Most garden beds sit between sand and clay.

How to measure plant width

A shrub with its width marked from one side to the other and the circle under it shaded blue

Measure across the plant, from the tips of the leaves on one side to the tips on the other.

Water the whole area the plant covers, shown in blue. The gallons here cover that area.

A wider plant means more gallons each watering, not more waterings. While it is young, measure again each spring.

How to tell it needs water

  • Woolly new growth drooping in heat while the soil is dry deep down means firewood banksia is due a soak
  • Leaves staying limp in soil that never dries point to overwatering
  • Branch tips dying back in a low, wet spot point to poor drainage
  • Gray-green leaves that stay stiff through summer show the plant has enough water

How to water it

  • Soak the root zone deeply, then wait until the soil dries far down
  • Choose an open site in full sun with sandy, well-drained soil
  • Water infrequently once it is established
  • Tip prune after flowering to keep growth compact
  • Plant it on a slope or mound if your soil is heavy

Through the seasons

Give a young plant regular deep soaks through its first summer. After that it is drought tolerant, and summer water can be rare. Flowering runs from late summer into winter, and the plant stays evergreen. Rain carries it through the cool months near the ocean. WUCOLS rates firewood banksia low water on the north-central coast and on the south coast. It is marked not suited to the Central Valley. WUCOLS has not evaluated it for South Inland, the high desert or the low desert.

In pots

Dwarf forms of firewood banksia suit large containers on a sunny deck. Use a coarse mix that drains fast. Water deeply when the top two inches feel dry, and let every drop run out. In summer, check every few days. Never let the pot stand in water. Tip prune after flowering to keep it compact. In winter, let rain do most of the work, and move the pot under cover when frost below about 26 degrees F is due.

1 Your climate zone six WUCOLS zones, each from its own reference city
Not ratedWUCOLS does not rate Firewood Banksia for the Central Valley zone
A year
no figure
Reference
Sacramento climate table
Counts
Plant need, before sprinkler losses

WUCOLS lists Firewood Banksia as not suited to this region for the Central Valley zone, so no monthly figure is computed here.

Monthly water need by climate zone

Firewood Banksia: gallons per square foot per month, by WUCOLS climate zone

MonthN. CoastC. ValleyS. CoastS. InlandHi DesertLo Desert
Jan0.15–0.31–––
Feb0.21–0.32–––
Mar0.35–0.46–––
Apr0.47–0.56–––
May0.58–0.64–––
Jun0.64–0.69–––
Jul0.64–0.79–––
Aug0.6–0.74–––
Sep0.5–0.6–––
Oct0.35–0.46–––
Nov0.19–0.33–––
Dec0.12–0.26–––
Year4.8–6.2–––

How this is worked out: the WUCOLS water rating for each zone times that zone’s climate for the month. A dash means WUCOLS does not rate the plant there. The figures are what the plant uses, before sprinkler losses.

Plants with the same water needs 16

Rated not suited to this region in the Central Valley, like firewood banksia. Plants that drink alike can share one valve and one schedule.

Chenille PlantAcalypha hispidanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingCopperleafAcalypha wilkesiananot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingYellow Bell BauhiniaBauhinia tomentosanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingMagic FlowerCantua buxifolianot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingClustered Fishtail PalmCaryota mitisnot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingHawaiian TiCordyline fruticosa (Cordyline terminalis)not rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingFilbertCorylus maximanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingPoinsettiaEuphorbia pulcherrimanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingWeeping Chinese BanyanFicus benjaminanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingRubber PlantFicus elasticanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingFranklin TreeFranklinia alatamaha (Gordonia alatamaha)not rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingJungle GeraniumIxora coccineanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingOrange JessamineMurraya paniculatanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingCommon GuavaPsidium guajavanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingOrgan Pipe CactusStenocereus thurberi (Lemaireocereus thurberi)not rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingGiant Bird of ParadiseStrelitzia nicolai (shade in desert)not rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley rating
Minutes for your sprinklers

Turn this into minutes on your water days

Every city page has a calculator that takes firewood banksia, your sprinkler type and the month, and gives the minutes per water day for that supplier's schedule. Or put it in a zone of the personal watering plan and get all twelve months printed.

Questions people ask

How much water does firewood banksia need per day?

In July on the north-central coast, established firewood banksia needs about 0.3 gallons a day for a plant 4 feet across and about 1.0 gallons a day for a plant 8 feet across. Give it in deep waterings spread days apart rather than a little every day, so the whole root zone gets wet.

Does watering for firewood banksia change across California?

Yes. WUCOLS rates firewood banksia separately for each of the six California climate zones: low water in the North-Central Coastal zone, not suited to this region in the Central Valley zone, low water in the South Coastal zone, not evaluated in the South Inland zone, not evaluated in the High and Intermediate Desert zone, not evaluated in the Low Desert zone. The monthly table above shows how the same rating translates into different gallon amounts as reference evapotranspiration changes.

How big does firewood banksia get?

It varies from 6 to 25 feet tall and 8 to 15 feet wide. Dwarf forms stay near 4 to 6 feet tall. Pick the form to fit your space.

When does firewood banksia bloom?

Fat flower heads open from late summer or fall into winter. Colors run from reddish pink and orange to golden yellow. They last well in arrangements.

Does firewood banksia attract birds?

Yes, its flowers attract birds. Place it where you can watch them from a window. It also works as a low screen or hillside plant.

How cold can firewood banksia take?

It is cold hardy to about 26 degrees F. Cover young plants on frosty nights. Valleys with hard frost do not suit it.

Can firewood banksia grow by the ocean?

It is a good seaside plant. Right by the surf, give it some shelter from direct wind and spray. Sandy soil suits it best.

More plant watering guides

Swedish IvySolomon's SealQuaking AspenShaving Brush TreeCommon GuavaFlame VineNikau PalmCup-of-Gold Vine

Sources