I use the basic potting soil that we buy in bulk for our greenhouse. I forget the brand but they do quite well in it.

I've had problems with regular bagged potting soils, and in my environment, I'd never use a moss or a peat as medium. I've experimented quite a bit, and now I exclusively use a larger particled, free-draining, gritty mix... it's very close to bonsai medium. It's mostly inorganic, and comprised of pine bark fines, turface or granite chips, crushed charcoal, perlite... that sort of thing. It's very breathable for the roots of plants, and since it drains so well, there's a lot less chance of any fungal or rot problems.

As a potting mix for outdoor plants and patio pots, I'd love to buy bulk ingredients and mix my own bonsai type of medium. I'm hoping I can find all the ingredients locally, but I will order them in if I have to.

The only bagged mix I've ever liked for planting outdoor container plants is Sunshine... we used to use bales of it when I worked at a garden center many years ago. I've never found it sold retail, though.

I'm sold on a more inorganic bonsai type of medium... I've had excellent results.

I plant mine into something similar to Jodik. Learned from the same teacher :).
1 part each of small gravel / turface / fir bark.
After using a soil like this, I will never go back to using the basic soil in bags.
It's just so much easier not to have to worry about bulbs rotting.

Your potting soil/mix should be adjusted to your growing condition, type of pot used and watering practices giving very good consideration to the plants (hippies) requirements. If a certain mix works for you and your plants, stick to it!

I use several mixes dependent on the growth stage of the hippies. Newly planted bulbs use a coco coir(from Philippines)/vermiculite/perlite/charcoal. Established plants use Promix BX/perlite/vermiculite/Charcoal. Seedlings use seedmix/vermiculite/charcoal for the first year. After that they are repotted to the "newly planted bulb" mix. These soil mixes are almost nutrient deficient so a good fertilizer program is necessary. Almost all of my hippies are grown in clay pots. These works for me and my hippies.

I totally agree with Maria... different climates and environments require different ways of gardening and growing. There are many variables to take into consideration.

Fertilizer is one thing I didn't mention in my previous post... it's especially important to have a good feeding program when using an inorganic type of medium. It's better to feed more often at a lower strength than it is to feed occasionally at a full strength. There are many types of fertilizers available, and I think you need to find the one that works for you in your environment, taking into consideration the needs of the plants.

I start seeds in a more organic mix, using about half and half of a quality potting soil and the inorganic medium I use for adult bulbs. This has worked out well for me, so far.

When I began collecting and growing bulbs, I became increasingly frustrated with rotting bulbs and roots... in my forum travels, I happened upon some very interesting reading over at the Container Gardening Forum. A GW Member by the name of Tapla had written some very well thought out articles on container gardening and soils, and after reading about the great results everyone was getting, I decided to research further. I'm so glad I took the time to dig a bit, no pun intended, into the subject of growing mediums!

Once summer arrives, I hope to move some of my bulb collection outdoors to bask the natural sunshine... I'll need to adjust my watering program to account for the difference in environment.

While I highly recommend using a medium that doesn't decompose too quickly in containers, thus breaking down, compacting and suffocating roots, I must advise each grower to research on his or her own, and to carefully consider how and where you grow your bulbs.