AusBonsai

Hello to all who are looking.

This is my first time posting to the forum, so I thought i would show what I believe to be my best tree in my collection.

I bought this tree around two years ago as nursery stock when I was just starting my bonsai journey. It’s a native to my area so it grows very well here. I probably stunted it’s growth a bit like I did with most of my trees while I was still just learning to keep them healthy in pots.

After much learning and care it has now regained it’s vigour over the last year. It’s early stages but I’m looking forward to working on this tree into the future.

Cheers for looking

Love the progression, well done.

Very nice woolly bush bonsai. Well done.

Adenanthos grow quite well in pots so have great potential as bonsai. It also responds well to pruning and does not seem to resent root pruning either. A. sericeus even manages to grow fairly well over here in the East (unlike many other fantastic WA endemics) It still does not like to be kept too wet over here and both times I have tried have ended in gradual decline and death.

What sort of potting mix are you using for this one?

shibui wrote: ↑March 29th, 2021, 6:10 pm Very nice woolly bush bonsai. Well done.

Adenanthos grow quite well in pots so have great potential as bonsai. It also responds well to pruning and does not seem to resent root pruning either. A. sericeus even manages to grow fairly well over here in the East (unlike many other fantastic WA endemics) It still does not like to be kept too wet over here and both times I have tried have ended in gradual decline and death.

What sort of potting mix are you using for this one?

Cheers Shibui,

After some initial experimentation, the mix I have been using for all my natives successfully for the past year has been something like 4 parts pumice, 2 parts pine bark, 1 part course sand, and 2 parts coco peat. That is what this one is in.

These days I use more or less the same mix but I add some sphagnum moss and substitute the pumice for 5mm blue metal as it’s cheaper and easier for me to get where I live. I used to have to buy pumice from Perth 4.5hrs away.

I water my woolly bush quite heavily all through summer and it doesn’t seem to mind it at all. And through winter we get a lot of rain here down south so it’s wet most of the time.

This is what it looked like before I recently gave it a trim.

[UPDATE]

Recently the Woolly Bush got it’s first repot into a bonsai pot. I have also given it a decent prune and wired to suit new potting angle.

It’s been over a month now and it has responded well to the roots being pruned without a problem. It is in a cheap generic pot for now, as I want to reduce the pot size one more time later on. Thought it might be safer to do it in two stages just in case.

Very cool
It looks like you picked a winner to begin with at the nursery 2 years ago, and you've done well to transform it into what it has become so far. Like shibui, I've had little luck with this species in Adelaide, my thoughts have always been that I killed by overwatering, but you've inspired me to try again though. Keep up the progression posts, I'm keen to watch this one....

[Help Needed!]

So things have taken a turn for the worse with my woolly bush over the last week. A branch at the back with very little foliage started to dry up and go brown which concerned me, but I was hoping it might just be the lack of foliage. Over the last day another fairly important branch has done the same thing and now I am getting very concerned. We have had a ridiculous amount of rainfall here in Albany this winter and I am thinking it might be dieback, as I know Adenanthos are susceptible to it. It was repotted mid May and had a fairly hard prune and wire applied end of June.

If anyone has any experience and/or suggestions of what it could be and how I can treat it before it’s too late I would be extremely grateful!

Check the roots. When I've had trees loose branches like that i find that there are issues under the soil line. Maybe air pockets?

Keels wrote: ↑August 9th, 2021, 6:30 pm Check the roots. When I've had trees loose branches like that i find that there are issues under the soil line. Maybe air pockets?

Thank you i am reluctant to take it out of the pot as i don't want to disturb it too much having repotted it only recently but i have just taken all the top of the soil off and am giving it another pack with the bamboo skewer i am finding there is a spot that is quite easy to push in to.

I just started re-potting a few of my trees this past weekend and discovered quite a few of my most favorite friends - the exquisite curl grub.
If your mix contains organics it may be worth checking..

Patmet wrote: ↑August 9th, 2021, 7:02 pm

Keels wrote: ↑August 9th, 2021, 6:30 pm Check the roots. When I've had trees loose branches like that i find that there are issues under the soil line. Maybe air pockets?

Thank you i am reluctant to take it out of the pot as i don't want to disturb it too much having repotted it only recently but i have just taken all the top of the soil off and am giving it another pack with the bamboo skewer i am finding there is a spot that is quite easy to push in to.

I think you have no choice but to pull it out and check. Its a little risky not to. The skewer check is also a good one. Hope it pulls through mate.

Keels wrote: ↑August 9th, 2021, 9:04 pm

Patmet wrote: ↑August 9th, 2021, 7:02 pm

Keels wrote: ↑August 9th, 2021, 6:30 pm Check the roots. When I've had trees loose branches like that i find that there are issues under the soil line. Maybe air pockets?

Thank you i am reluctant to take it out of the pot as i don't want to disturb it too much having repotted it only recently but i have just taken all the top of the soil off and am giving it another pack with the bamboo skewer i am finding there is a spot that is quite easy to push in to.

I think you have no choice but to pull it out and check. Its a little risky not to. The skewer check is also a good one. Hope it pulls through mate.

Cheers for that i am definitely with you on it being a root problem. Whether it is a root rot disease like dieback or hopefully like you said air pockets maybe i will suss it out and fingers crossed i can give a positive update down the track. Will be a good learning experience anyway

I've come unstuck a few times (=often!) by pruning natives too hard in winter, and pruning too hard when I'm repotting. In fact, pruning too hard, mostly! Repotting natives in winter also seems to cause some anguish for a number of growers. One of these might be your problem. Keep it warm and dry-ish, and good luck.

Gavin

[UPDATE]

Thanks to everyone for your advice and suggestions it’s very much appreciated. I ended up finding some more evidence such as clear sticky residue on the foliage (honeydew) and discovered it was under attack from mealybugs.

I immediately gave it a thorough spray of eco-oil, and then with the help and advice of my local club we gave it an emergency re-pot into a much better draining mix, as the soil I had it in was too rich in organic material for the climate and rainfall we get down south here, and staying too wet. This mix was fine in a larger plastic pot but not a shallow bonsai pot.

Since this was the first tree I have potted into a bonsai pot - (The rest of my collection are in development), my lack of experience with the shallow container led me to not alter my mix accordingly. What we believe happened is that since re-potting the roots were staying too wet and slowly rotting, in doing so weakening the tree, leading to the mealybugs beginning to prey on it’s vulnerability. I have been told these pests will usually attack a tree that is weakened.

It’s on a daily regime of season now, and thankfully after only one day so far the branches with the dead foliage are already starting to green up again so I think I might have got it just in time for them to be saved. This has been a good learning experience and hopefully if someone else has a problem with their adenanthos woolly bush they can refer here for a possible cause. Just have to remember very good drainage and watch out for mealybugs

Lovely work!
I've wanted to give one a go for a while, now I'm inspired too!
thanks
Tim J