Go with Al's Gritty Mix - one part bark, two parts grit.

Josh

The bagged mixes labeled for cacti/succulents are nearly always a complete joke- a cruel joke as they are very adept at leading to the death of plants.

Most of the time the commercial mixes for cacti are the same as the mixes for 'general purpose', perhaps with a handful of gritty stuff tossed in.

You are going to want either a predominantly inorganic mix that is NOT '100% biodegradable' or a more organic based one that will need to be replaced in a year's time for best results.

Do a search on this forum for 'Al's mix' or 'gritty mix' and you will find some ideas for suitable mixes.

You could just grow the jade in a mostly sand mix. Something like 70% sand 20% perlite and 10% compost.

IMO, that would be a very water-retentive soil, and probably not a very good choice for jades.

Al

I completely agree... I would go with Al's Mix or the gritty mix...

I, myself, use a medium for all of my plants, cacti included, that is equal parts:

fir bark pieces (Reptibark reptile bedding - 100% fir bark)
perlite (regular bagged horticultural perlite)
granite chips (Manna Pro poultry grit - 100% granite chips)

I grow lots of bulbs, Amaryllids... cacti and orchids... a few other plant types... all in this same mix. I grow indoors. For my purposes and environment, this medium works very well.

Other ingredients might include turface, calcined DE, Hydroton, pumice, other gravels... there's a ton of excellent reading material, here in the forum, on mediums. Please read the articles written by "tapla"... very educational!

Al,

Yeah your probably right maybe just a sand perlite mix would work? I am not an expert in soil composition, though I would think a mostly sand mix would work relatively well if it was not bogged down by things that made the sand unable to drain.

I would say it depends on what you call sand (I sound like Clinton, hmm?). If you stick to the rule that you'll use nothing smaller than 1/2 BB size, it would probably work well, but mixing the relatively large particles of perlite with the fine particles of sand @ 70/20 - sand/perlite, will yield a soil with the same drainage characteristics as all sand, and the same PWT height. All the perlite accomplishes is a little reduction in the total volume of water the soil will hold.

Al

I think sand, as most of us know it, would be too fine in particle size... I'd go with something a little larger.

Actually, the bag of sand that I have sitting in a room is opened, and has been wet for about 2 months..

I actually lost a baby Jade planted in just sand and perlite per my fathers suggestion a few years back from rot, and it was only watered once a week, in the summer..

Mike

I have one little pot of cacti that was originally planted in sand... it's just the native dirt that was around the little guy when he was dug up out of the yard... and I only have to add water once every few months. The finer grains of sand and whatever else is in there seem to retain a lot of moisture for a very long time. I'm actually surprised it's still alive. It's my son's cacti.

I guess it boils down to evapotranspiration. If im living in Phoenix lets say, I would need a totally different soil mix then if I lived in Seattle. Is the Gritty mix good enough to handle container evapotranspiration in a hot and dry climate?

I think that largely depends on the actual ingredients you employ, and the amount of time you want to devote to caring for your plants... for example, turface has greater water retention capacity than plain granite chips or perlite, so that might be a better option.

If I were to use an ingredient that held more moisture, my plants would not be happy. So, I think ingredient choice correlates largely with climate and growing environment. But yes, I do think a version of the gritty mix or Al's Mix can be built to be successful regardless of where you live.

Hi Nullzero,
Are you in Phoenix? If so were almost neighbors. :) I'm in Tucson.

I have a thread going right now to learn how to use Al's mixes in our hot climate. You may want to take a peek. I'm getting ready to plant strawberries, and will also be using it for other outdoor needs and my succulents.

Al provided a link also with some very good reading on the hows and whats of his mixes..

JoJo

Here is a link that might be useful: Learning to use Al's mixes

No im in interior south Orange County, CA. Takes me about 4.5 hours to drive to phoenix.

Jojo,

Look at you trying to help others find such true joy in the complete satisfaction of knowing their plants roots and overall health will greatly flourish.

That is kind,and, that is proof of soemone who cares for others here and there plants as many others do! Bravo!

Thankyou!

Mike..:-)