Woolly Bush (Adenanthos)

[Ryceman3]

Not enough adenanthos as bonsai in this world, hopefully this inspires a few more. It's a very promising bonsai...

[Keep Calm and Ramify]

Improving continually - looks great. You've got the knack for a Woolly Bush!

[Kedron Brook]

Looks great! Bet it's nice to touch, I like that about the claret tops.
A few questions. How old do you reckon the trunk is? At the major root prune, is the root reduction as much as it looks (~80%)?

[Patmet]

Looks great! Bet it's nice to touch, I like that about the claret tops.
A few questions. How old do you reckon the trunk is? At the major root prune, is the root reduction as much as it looks (~80%)?

Yes, it's a pleasure to work on being so soft.

At a very rough guess I would say somewhere between 6-10 years old. When I got it as raw stock two years ago I reckon it was at least 3 or 4 years old but hard to say as they do grow very fast.

Yep it's exactly as it looks in the photos. But in saying that a good portion of that soil just fell away really easily so I would say the actual root reduction was much less than 80% maybe more like 50%. Woolly bush have fairly "weak" sparse root systems from what I have seen so far. I think they can potentially be left without repotting for longer than a lot of other natives with "strong" root systems. Only reason I repotted this year was to lower into the pot more. A key point with the repotting is that I did it when the tree was in a stage of elongating those shoots and as you can see I didn't remove any foliage. I think this helped it recover and grow new roots quicker.

[Patmet]

This had a ramification prune last month. It's starting to respond now pushing new buds. There's enough branches now that the spread of energy is starting to really shrink the foliage. The proportion to the tree size is starting to get there.

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Before work.

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After.

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Thought it looked good in this light

[BirchMan]

Cool, it's like a Southern White Pine.

[Promethius]

You’ve done an incredible job with this.

A Nintendo 64 controller is my new favourite size reference.

[Patmet]

Cool, it's like a Southern White Pine.

It really does have a white pine look. I showed a few bonsai people when I was in Japan and they all assumed it was a pine.

[Patmet]

You’ve done an incredible job with this.

A Nintendo 64 controller is my new favourite size reference.

It was unintentional too, just happened to be there. Something a bit different

[Mickeyjaytee]

This is one of my favourite trees. You have such great skill Pat. I could only dream of doing something like this. I did try a wooly bush but, have no idea about how to thicken it up, create movement like you have and get such awesome ramification.

You’ve done an excellent job mate

[Albo]

That tree keeps getting better and better. Amazing from where you started not to long ago to where it is now.

[Mickeyjaytee]

Hi Pat,

Just a few questions in regards to the wooly bush if that’s ok. I’ve done some searching on the forums but, can’t find exactly what I’m after and have a few that were destined for the garden but, thought I might give them a good try. They make beautiful bonsai.

I’m wondering if you know what a safe amount of root reduction is? Also, I find I have a much higher success rate after root work with natives to sit the them in a tray of water. I know wooly bush don’t like to be kept moist so, is it best to not do this?

I am in Perth so it’s much hotter and dryer.

Lastly, what’s your feeding regime like specifically for a wooly bush? I know they don’t like phosphorus which is fine, I mostly have natives so give them seasol, gogo juice and a native fertiliser.

Any help would be appreciated. Looking forward to updates on this tree! It’s just awesome.

[Patmet]

Hi Pat,

Just a few questions in regards to the wooly bush if that’s ok. I’ve done some searching on the forums but, can’t find exactly what I’m after and have a few that were destined for the garden but, thought I might give them a good try. They make beautiful bonsai.

I’m wondering if you know what a safe amount of root reduction is? Also, I find I have a much higher success rate after root work with natives to sit the them in a tray of water. I know wooly bush don’t like to be kept moist so, is it best to not do this?

I am in Perth so it’s much hotter and dryer.

Lastly, what’s your feeding regime like specifically for a wooly bush? I know they don’t like phosphorus which is fine, I mostly have natives so give them seasol, gogo juice and a native fertiliser.

Any help would be appreciated. Looking forward to updates on this tree! It’s just awesome.

Ok so I'll give you a run down of my personal experience with all of your questions.

1) I don't like to suggest a specific amount of root reduction to anyone as I think it can vary so much due to so many different factors. What I will say is if anything don't rush with woolly bushes. If you're inexperienced and unsure be on the safe side and reduce the roots conservatively over a couple of years. This advice goes for every species in general.

Woolly bush don't have vigorous, dense, root systems. Their roots are quite sparse and fragile. When repotting they fall and break away quite easily so be gentle when raking away soil. It's amazing what straggly little roots they can survive on IF they are in good health. You just have to look at where they grow in the environment. They can grow in sand dunes right on the beach like a succulent. I wouldn't recommend sitting in water for woolly bush I don't think that is necessary and could be risky.

Root rot is your biggest challenge with woolly bush. They are incredibly tough with foliage reduction, drought tolerance, and sun/heat exposure. One thing I have experienced though is if you had your woolly bush in a somewhat shaded area for a while and move out into full sun straight away the foliage can get sun burnt where the tips go white. And it goes without saying they are only tough to all these conditions when you have good healthy roots. Be sure to have them in a really sandy/gritty well draining mix. For growing and early development what works well for me is a composted pine bark potting mix with lots of course sand mixed in and I also mix in 5mm granite chips I get from a landscape supplier. Be very mindful not to water too much until the roots get established in the pot. Once established in a well draining mix they can be watered a decent amount in the warmer months. avoid over potting as you pot it up while developing so there isn't too much wet soil around the root ball before it can become established. Remember soggy roots are your biggest concern with this species. Lean towards the dryer side.

2) During development I fed with the all purpose including natives powerfeed slow release granular fertiliser. Now in a bonsai pot I use unbranded native fertiliser tablets I get from a local nursery that just dissolve slowly every time you water. I think any native low phosphorous fert is fine they appreciate a good feed when growing. I also charlie carp liquid feed my whole garden with a refillable hose spray pack every fortnight during spring, summer, and autumn for a boost. the woolly bush seems to be fine with this.

[Mickeyjaytee]

Thanks so much for taking the time to write that all out for me, I really appreciate it Pat. I worked on a couple today, one had a nice root structure and I tried to minimise the amount taken off. The other wasn’t so great. Root bound and twisted around the pot. I’ve heard they strike quite easily from cuttings in summer so I’m going to give that a shot. It takes longer but, is much better than the nursery stock. I might try a sandy mix as opposed to general seedling/cutting mixture.

I’ll make sure not to overwater them. I think this coming Perth summer will help I put them in fairly small pots and will slowly work my way up.

Thanks for the advice on potting mixture! I almost had put them in a too dense mix.

I’ve never used slow dissolving tablets so I might check those out.

Thanks again Pat, I really appreciate it. The humble woolly bush is underrated and underused imo!

Thanks for your updates and looking forward to more.

Cheers mate

[Patmet]

Thanks again Pat, I really appreciate it. The humble woolly bush is underrated and underused imo!

Thanks for your updates and looking forward to more.

Cheers mate

It sure is. I think it has huge potential to be a keystone bonsai species for us in WA.

No worries mate, happy to share what I know. The more we share our experiences, we can all learn from each other and advance our bonsai practices faster.

Just one important side note I will add that I forgot to include above - Be sure to only do root work and repotting on your woolly bush when it is in an actively growing state, and don't remove foliage at the same time as repotting. If it has too much growth, prune it back first, then give the tree time to recover and start elongating again before you repot and work the roots. See my photos in this thread as an example.