Adenanthos

The Albany woollybush (Adenanthos sericeus) is grown for texture rather than flower: a soft silver green plume of fine needle foliage that few people walk past without touching. It reaches about 3m tall and 2m wide, forming a loose upright shrub that filters wind instead of blocking it. Small red flowers sit tucked inside the foliage, and honeyeaters find them long before you do.

Why you'll love it

• Foliage you will keep touching. The fine silvery needles are genuinely soft, unusual in a plant this drought hardy.
• Built for exposed blocks. Salt tolerant and wind tolerant, so a front coastal boundary does not shred it.
• Birds work it quietly. The small red flowers are half hidden, but honeyeaters find them through most of the year.
• A soft screen, not a wall. At 3m by 2m it gives height and privacy while keeping a light, informal look.
• Almost no upkeep. Drought tolerant once established and happy in poor sandy ground.

Where it works best

Screening and privacy. Plant 1.5m apart for a soft feathery screen. It will not close as tightly as a clipped hedge, and that is the point: filtered privacy without a solid green block.

Coastal gardens and windbreaks. Salt laden wind is where it earns its keep. A staggered double row at 1.5m spacing slows wind across an exposed block rather than forcing it over the top.

Feature planting and pots. A single specimen reads as a silver column against a dark fence. In a pot 400mm or wider it holds around 1.5m to 2m.

Growing Albany woollybush in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun, with plenty of air movement. It suits warm temperate, Mediterranean and cool temperate gardens, and takes light frost only, so hard frosting inland districts will burn the new growth. Humid subtropical and tropical gardens stay too wet through summer for it to be reliable.

Soil. This is the make or break. It needs very free draining soil, sandy or gravelly for preference, and will not survive where water sits after rain. On clay, plant high on a raised mound of coarse sandy mix and keep mulch thin.

Water and feed. Water weekly through the first summer to get roots down, then step back. Do not use standard fertiliser: like its Proteaceae relatives it is sensitive to phosphorus, so use a low phosphorus native blend or nothing at all.

Pruning. Tip prune lightly from a young age to keep it bushy. Never cut into bare old wood, because it does not reliably reshoot. Light and often beats hard and late.

What to expect when it arrives

This one is grown as tubestock. Tubes are young single stemmed plants, usually 150mm to 250mm tall, and they are the sensible way to buy it: woollybush resents root disturbance, so a small plant that establishes quickly outperforms a larger one that sulks.

Expect 400mm to 600mm of growth a year once away, and a useful screen in three to four years. The fine foliage can look flattened on arrival and lifts within a week. Delivered Australia wide, delivery from $29.95, with our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Read our guide to plants for coastal gardens before planting an exposed site.
• Browse more Australian native shrubs with the same low water needs.
• Compare other salt tolerant plants for a front boundary.
• See the range of screening plants from 2m to 4m.

Common questions

How far apart should I plant it for a screen?

Space plants 1.5m apart in a single row. Closer planting crowds the bases and thins the lower foliage, which spoils the soft column shape.

Will it grow in clay soil?

Not without help, since drainage is the biggest cause of failure here. On clay, mound the site at least 300mm above the surrounding level using a coarse sandy mix.

How much frost will it take?

Light frost only. Young plants in cool temperate gardens want a sheltered position for their first two winters, and hard frosting inland districts sit outside its range.