Adenanthos sericeus

Adenanthos sericeus is an Australian bush nicknamed Woolly bush due to the feathery appearance of its silky grey-blue foliage, as soft to the touch as it is to the eye. This large evergreen bush blooms throughout the summer, adorning its foliage with tubular red to orange flowers. Native to the coastal areas of the Esperance region, it is a plant very well suited to the Mediterranean coast, both very sunny and dry in summer and spared from heavy frost in winter. This Adenanthos, which adapts well to any well-drained soil, is much easier to grow than its cousins the Proteas. Unusual and attractive, it works wonders in an exotic garden, alongside Grevillea, Callistemon, and other Mimosas. Continental gardeners will have no trouble growing it in a large pot to overwinter frost-free.

Adenanthos sericeus is a perennial shrub of the Proteaceae family. It is endemic to the southwestern regions of Australia, which are hot and dry, explaining its excellent adaptation to coastal regions which are very dry in summer, mild and humid in winter. It is found there in sandy soils or on rocky slopes, on always well-drained soils, in the sun. Adenanthos sericeus is evergreen, it keeps its leaves all year round. Its cold resistance is evaluated at -5 /-6°C at the most, for a mature subject planted in well-drained soil.

This Adenanthos forms a large bush supported by candelabra-like upright branches. It grows quite rapidly and reaches about 1.30m (4ft 4in) in height with a spread of 90cm (35.4in) to 1m in our latitudes. Its branches, hairy when young, become glabrous over time. They bear remarkable foliage, very dense, composed of finely divided leaves resembling pine needles. Very flexible, they are silky and very soft to the touch. The young shoots are a very tender green, contrasting with the mature foliage of green-grey-blue colour with silvery reflections. The drier and hotter it gets, the more the foliage will be covered with silvery bristles. Flowering occurs from June to September. Small tube-shaped flowers, bright red, are formed in the midst of the foliage, visited by pollinating insects.

Adenanthos sericeus is a plant with remarkable design, very structuring for a dry garden or a large rock garden in a mild climate. It can be planted as a standalone specimen and will work wonders in a shrub bed composed of Australian plants : Isopogon, compact Leptospermum, Grevillea, and small Callistemon will be good companions, as well as evergreen Artemisias or perennial Ceanothus, covered in blue flowers in spring. It will prefer to settle in sheltered coastal gardens, spared from heavy frost, in light, rocky, or sandy soil. Particularly suited to the Mediterranean climate, it thrives in poor, dry to arid soils and looks good as a standalone plant on large slopes or in the background of dry garden beds, always in an open position, in full sun.