Adenanthos

[squizzy]

Hi everyone

I thought I would start a thread for adenanthos which is a Western Australia native that I seem to have had reasonable success with here on the east coast. It's common name is woolly bush. I have seen one of pups trees on the forum years ago but not a lot since.

I am wondering if anyone has had significant experience with them. I have a few that I need to work on but this one that I have finally got into a bonsai pot. It's not perfect but I think if I developed a few in the future I could improve on some of the faults in this tree.

They seem ok to have the roots disturbed in summer and the back bud as well. They have a certain pine look about them I guess.

What are people's thoughts? Are there any others out there?

Squizzy

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Squizzy

[Jag001]

Squizzy,

I have often wondered about the viability of these types of trees, I have never pursued one as a Bonsai. I too would be interest in the long term viability of these trees and any cultivation tips would be very handy.

Thanks for raising it.

cheers,
jeff

[Sno]

An interesting tree Squizzy , I'd be interested to see how or if you can reduce the wire induced inverse taper . I don't grow Adenanthos but I do have some trees with similar issues . Do you think it will grow out ? Thanks for showing it to us .
Cheers Sno

[squizzy]

Hi sno

Probably could find a way to fix the wire problems but would be better off just growing a new one. This tree has only been trained for 4 years. As you can see the initial wire was left on to long. I think I'd just keep it in mind for the next few I make. These I hope to make shorter with more interesting movement and less wire marks

Let's see how I go

Squizzy

[Pearcy001]

Seems like an interesting species for Bonsai, keen to see the results

Sent from my SM-G920I using Tapatalk

[shibui]

There are already quite a few threads that feature Adenanthos here Squizzy. Try the search button.

I agree that these are worth working with and I have played with a few. They seem to cope with pot culture very well and, as you've [pointed out, respond well to pruning. Also have quite attractive flowers. The downside is that they are proteacea so they are a bit sensitive to P in the fertiliser and also seem to be sensitive to some root rots, probably phytopthera. I've lost a few unexpectedly so I'd advise being careful with your potting mix (use a reliable source and don't reuse materials without sterilising first) and watering.

Note that there are a few other species of Adenanthos, Some don't look anything like this one.

[Raging Bull]

Regarding the reverse taper,- it may be worth a try to tightly wire the bottom of the trunk to induce more scarring and then let the tree grow over the wire so after a while it's not visible any more but permanently embedded in the trunk. I'm going to try this with a juniper to see if it produces a more "gnarly" thicker trunk in less time

[squizzy]

Thanks for the replies. I might consider making this one better by some of the changes suggested but like I said probably better of investing time into new ones and avoiding the same mistakes.

I'm am hoping someone else has some to show?

Ragging bull. I have done just as you suggested with black pines and am now experimenting with banksia.

Squizzy

[Max]

Thanks Squizzy i quite like your tree and yes it would be interesting to see others...did you ground grow first or in a pot

cheers
Max

[squizzy]

Just realized there are a few replies I need to make on some threads.

Hi No idea. Thanks for the compliment. I have grown this one in training pot for a few years and probably put it into a bonsai pot 12 months ago.

I entered it in the school of bonsai show this year and it apparently it attracted plenty of interest. We may see more around soon hey.

Any way here is an update as it looks at present.

Squizzy

[squizzy]

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