woolly bush

Woolly Bush (Adenanthos sericeus 'Silver Streak') is grown for foliage, not flowers. It forms a soft upright column about 2.5m tall and only 1.2m wide, clothed in fine silky needles worth touching as you walk past. The small red flowers hide inside the foliage, so what you are buying is a permanent silver accent that keeps its shape with almost no clipping.

Why you'll love it

• Silver in every season. The fine needles carry a coat of silky hairs that catch low light, and the tone holds all year.
• Narrow by nature. At 2.5m tall and 1.2m across it lines a fence or frames an entry without crowding a path or a shallow bed.
• Built for hard sites. Drought, wind and salt tolerant, and content in poor sandy soil. A sensible pick for an exposed coastal block.
• Honeyeaters find it. The red flowers sit deep in the foliage and are easy to miss, but small birds work them through the warmer months.
• Very little upkeep. No spraying, no feeding routine, no hard prune. A light tip once a year is the whole job.

Where it works best

Feature planting. One plant carries a bed on its own, and the silver reads well against dark foliage or rendered walls.

Screening and hedging. Plant 1m apart for a soft narrow screen. It will never be a clipped wall, and that is the appeal: a filtered, textural barrier.

Coastal gardens and pots. Salt and wind barely register. In a pot 400mm or wider it settles nearer 1.5m and gives a balcony some height.

Growing Woolly Bush in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun all day, with air moving through it. Warm temperate, cool temperate, Mediterranean and subtropical gardens suit it, and it takes light frost once established. Hard frosting inland districts and the tablelands are too cold, and humid subtropical summers work only where drainage is close to perfect.

Soil. This decides whether the plant lives. It wants sandy or gravelly ground that drains fast and never stays wet. On clay, build a mound 300mm high with coarse sand through it, and mulch with gravel clear of the stem.

Water and feed. Deep water weekly through the first summer, then only in long dry spells. Feed lightly in early spring with a low phosphorus native fertiliser, since ordinary garden fertiliser holds enough phosphorus to damage this family.

Pruning. Tip prune lightly each year after flowering to keep the column dense. Never cut into bare old wood, because it does not reliably reshoot from it.

What to expect when it arrives

We grow this one as tube stock, currently listed on backorder, so allow extra time before it ships. Tubes are young and single stemmed, a palm width of silver growth above the mix. They are the affordable way to plant a run, and they settle quickly, though allow two to three seasons before they screen.

Plants travel upright in their pots and are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Expect a quiet fortnight after planting, then fresh silver growth once the roots move. Every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Browse the Australian native shrub range
• Compare tall and narrow screening plants
• Coastal and salt tolerant plants for exposed blocks
• Best coastal plants for beachside gardens

Common questions

How far apart should I plant it for a screen?

One metre apart in a single row gives a soft narrow screen within two to three seasons. Any closer and air movement drops, which raises the risk of root trouble.

Why do woolly bushes die suddenly?

Almost always drainage. Roots sitting wet after heavy rain bring on collapse, often weeks later. Plant high, keep mulch off the stem, and resist watering an established plant through a wet spell.

Can I grow it in a pot?

Yes, and a pot is safer in a garden with heavy clay. Use one 400mm or wider with a free draining mix, and expect about 1.5m rather than 2.5m.