Woolly Bush (Adenanthos)

[Patmet]

Here is a Woolly Bush I got last year that is starting to take shape into what I think is an interesting form.

It started out with choosing a trunk to go with from the fork that was in the stock, and then playing around with starting to design an upright form. That was September 2021. In January this year (2022) came a re-think of the design and a severe cut back was performed to start heading in the new direction.

After months of unimpeded growth, now September 2022, I have just finished starting to set some structure for the main branches. It's looking a bit messy right now for obvious reasons, but as the branches get some thickness I will reign the silhouette in more.

I'm really happy with how much progress I've been able to make with this species in one year. It's a great Aus native we have at our disposal. I hope to add to this thread as this tree progresses.

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January 2022 just before new direction

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January 2022 just after new direction

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September 2022

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September 2022

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[austindrake]

Thanks for this Patmet, I havent seen many of these and it was cool to get a glimpse. The last Woolly Bush I got suffered from root rot before I knew what I was doing and carked it pretty quickly in its life.

[Patmet]

Thanks for this Patmet, I havent seen many of these and it was cool to get a glimpse. The last Woolly Bush I got suffered from root rot before I knew what I was doing and carked it pretty quickly in its life.

I'm no stranger to that scenario either. I had a woolly bush a couple of years ago that was developing nicely only to succumb to root rot. I did learn a lot from that experience though and it could definitely have been avoided had I done things differently. You live and learn. Can only try again!

[Patmet]

An update over the last few months:

On the 5th of November 2022 I root pruned and potted the Woolly Bush into it's first bonsai pot. I was anxious about this as I came unstuck getting my previous woolly bush into a bonsai pot. I did however learn from my mistakes, and this time I root pruned at a time when it had recovered from the last round of pruning and wiring and I didn't touch any of the foliage. It went into a mix of pumice, scoria, and orchiata pine bark with a small amount of organic also.

See pictures of root reduction below;

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I then left it to recover, waiting nervously for signs of life. Before too long it started to grow again. I left the shoots to all extend quite long and get bushy because I wanted it to regain as much vigour as possible before I continued work. I am learning patience, and being able to make better judgement calls from past mistakes. The start of January 2023 I was confident it was healthy enough to handle another round of wire tweaks and pruning, and now here we are.

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[Mickeyjaytee]

I absolutely love the shape and design of this tree. It’s just amazing and inspiring. Thank you so much for sharing. One day I hope I could do something as awesome as this!

Awesome work!

[Raging Bull]

You started a very nice shape happening there. That will be interesting to watch as it progresses.

[boom64]

Great work Patmet ,the makings of a very interesting tree. Cheers John.

[Patmet]

I absolutely love the shape and design of this tree. It’s just amazing and inspiring. Thank you so much for sharing. One day I hope I could do something as awesome as this!

Awesome work!

Thanks for the kind words. Hopefully this thread can be a good guide for future reference of what works and doesn't. If you're interested I highly recommend getting yourself a woolly bush from a nursery. They are very common and easy to find. They grow so quickly, and are a joy to work on too with the soft silky foliage. It's just super important to have a well draining mix, as they succumb to dieback very easily with constantly wet roots.

[Mickeyjaytee]

I absolutely love the shape and design of this tree. It’s just amazing and inspiring. Thank you so much for sharing. One day I hope I could do something as awesome as this!

Awesome work!

Thanks for the kind words. Hopefully this thread can be a good guide for future reference of what works and doesn't. If you're interested I highly recommend getting yourself a woolly bush from a nursery. They are very common and easy to find. They grow so quickly, and are a joy to work on too with the soft silky foliage. It's just super important to have a well draining mix, as they succumb to dieback very easily with constantly wet roots.

I did manage to get myself one today actually! I was inspired. Now to keep my little fuzzball away from it. I have zero problems with my dog and plants in the garden… except for wooly bushes… I think it’s the way they spring back he just can’t help himself. RIP on 2 so far

How long did you grow yours for Patmet until you had such a nice trunk and design? The nursery just had very young, very lanky material. Did you bare root it initially? I’m ready to rock and roll and have learnt from quite a few mistakes just this week.

I want to make sure I get it right!

[Patmet]

I absolutely love the shape and design of this tree. It’s just amazing and inspiring. Thank you so much for sharing. One day I hope I could do something as awesome as this!

Awesome work!

Thanks for the kind words. Hopefully this thread can be a good guide for future reference of what works and doesn't. If you're interested I highly recommend getting yourself a woolly bush from a nursery. They are very common and easy to find. They grow so quickly, and are a joy to work on too with the soft silky foliage. It's just super important to have a well draining mix, as they succumb to dieback very easily with constantly wet roots.

I did manage to get myself one today actually! I was inspired. Now to keep my little fuzzball away from it. I have zero problems with my dog and plants in the garden… except for wooly bushes… I think it’s the way they spring back he just can’t help himself. RIP on 2 so far

How long did you grow yours for Patmet until you had such a nice trunk and design? The nursery just had very young, very lanky material. Did you bare root it initially? I’m ready to rock and roll and have learnt from quite a few mistakes just this week.

I want to make sure I get it right!

Awesome, that's great you have one now. Yes I have some planted in the ground in my garden and my dogs like to sit on one of them constanly.

So with this particular woolly bush, it was generously given to me by a local bonsai mentor of mine as a stock tree that he had wired the trunk a bit initially (hence the wire scars on the trunk). So I couldn't tell you how long he grew it. Maybe a couple of years at a guess? Once the trunk is at the desired size they can be developed quite quickly. The first root work I did on this woolly bush is in the pictures above going into the bonsai pot.

My advice is to take it slow to begin with, don't do too much too quickly. I wouldn't recommend bare rooting, just take it in moderate stages over time. If doing anything to the roots don't work the top of the tree at the same time let it recover first. Let the soil get slightly dry between each watering. I have found they have quite sparing roots systems.

[Mickeyjaytee]

I absolutely love the shape and design of this tree. It’s just amazing and inspiring. Thank you so much for sharing. One day I hope I could do something as awesome as this!

Awesome work!

Thanks for the kind words. Hopefully this thread can be a good guide for future reference of what works and doesn't. If you're interested I highly recommend getting yourself a woolly bush from a nursery. They are very common and easy to find. They grow so quickly, and are a joy to work on too with the soft silky foliage. It's just super important to have a well draining mix, as they succumb to dieback very easily with constantly wet roots.

I did manage to get myself one today actually! I was inspired. Now to keep my little fuzzball away from it. I have zero problems with my dog and plants in the garden… except for wooly bushes… I think it’s the way they spring back he just can’t help himself. RIP on 2 so far

How long did you grow yours for Patmet until you had such a nice trunk and design? The nursery just had very young, very lanky material. Did you bare root it initially? I’m ready to rock and roll and have learnt from quite a few mistakes just this week.

I want to make sure I get it right!

Awesome, that's great you have one now. Yes I have some planted in the ground in my garden and my dogs like to sit on one of them constanly.

So with this particular woolly bush, it was generously given to me by a local bonsai mentor of mine as a stock tree that he had wired the trunk a bit initially (hence the wire scars on the trunk). So I couldn't tell you how long he grew it. Maybe a couple of years at a guess? Once the trunk is at the desired size they can be developed quite quickly. The first root work I did on this woolly bush is in the pictures above going into the bonsai pot.

My advice is to take it slow to begin with, don't do too much too quickly. I wouldn't recommend bare rooting, just take it in moderate stages over time. If doing anything to the roots don't work the top of the tree at the same time let it recover first. Let the soil get slightly dry between each watering. I have found they have quite sparing roots systems.

A mentor hey? Geez, I need me one of those! I’m making huge mistakes thus far haha. Part of the process I guess!

I took it out of the pot and it’s quite a mess. I see proteoid roots as well. I will try sort them out and perhaps give it a trim. Very young as I said so it’s going to be quite a while before I get anywhere.

Thanks for the reply and tips Patmet! It really is such an amazing looking tree! I love it.

[Patmet]

A milestone for this little tree over the weekend. Had it's debut exhibition appearance at the AABC national convention in Perth. Ramification has improved a fair bit since my last update of getting it into a bonsai pot. I'm looking forward to keep refining.

Cheers, Patrick

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On display at the show

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A week before the show

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Not a great photo, but how the ramification is coming along

[Ryceman3]

Love what you’re doing with this… it’s looking great.
Congrats on your spot in the exhibition, well deserved!

[Patmet]

Love what you’re doing with this… it’s looking great.
Congrats on your spot in the exhibition, well deserved!

Thanks for the feedback, glad you like it. My pines are calling me after seeing yours!

[Patmet]

Since my last post in Autumn I have repotted this to sit lower in the pot as it was sitting a bit high from first big root reduction getting it into a bonsai pot. I've done a light clean out ready for the growing season and just fully wired out all of the secondary branching to keep trying to improve branch structure as I work on further ramification. It's currently 29cm from top of pot to apex and 35cm from foliage to foliage.

I would like to eventually make a comprehensive guide about Woolly Bush as bonsai to post on here to help others utilise the species. Just want to get a bit more experience with them under my belt first so I can make sure the information is solid.

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Before work September 2023

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After wiring September 2023

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