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gary_cotterill

Potting Mixes for my plants

Which of these plants need 'special' potting mixes and which can use a 'general-purpose' potting mix? What brands?


Begonia semperflorens (begonia)
Bougainvillea 'Barbara Karst'
Callistemon citrinus 'Little John' (Dwarf Bottlebrush)
Camellia japonica 'Kramer's Supreme'
Chlorophytum comosum (spider plant)
Citrus × sinensis (orange tree)
Clivia miniata (Orange Clivia)
Coprosma 'Tequila Sunrise' Mirror Plant
Cotoneaster horizontalis
Cycas revoluta (Sago Palm)
Duranta Erecta (Skyflower)
Echeveria Setosa Mexican Firecracker
Eugenia Myrtifolia [Brush Cherry)
Euphorbia miliim (Crown-of-Thorns)
Geranium (pelargonium)
Hibiscus
hydrangea
Impatiens
Lagerstroemia (crepe myrtle)
Lantana camara
Lonicera (Honeysuckle)
Portulacaria afra (Elephant's Food)
Protasparagus densiflorus 'Meyeri' (Foxtail Fern)
Protasparagus densiflorus 'Sprengeri' (Sprenger's Asparagus)
Prunus cerasifera (Purpleleaf Plum)
Rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary)
Solanum rantonnetii (Royal Robe potato bush)
Tecoma capensis (Cape honeysuckle)
Trachelospermum jasminoides (star jasmine)

Comments (6)

  • gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
    8 years ago

    If any of these are being grown for longer than a single season (and most appear to be shrubby/woody, perennial type plants rather than annuals), then something like the gritty mix will work for any of them.

    I grow almost entirely in containers and use the same mix for just about everything. Much like fertilizers, you do not need a different type potting mix for different type plants :-)


  • Gary in Riverside Ca (USA) USDA Zone 9b; Sunset Zone 18
    Original Author
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    Thanks!

    All of the plants listed have been growing for years in their containers.

    Every few years, I unpot the plants, wash all of the 'old' potting mix off of the roots and re-pot them (in the same containers) using new potting mix.

    By 'special' potting mixes, I mean 'plant-specfic' mixes (i.e., for plants that need acidic soil, succulents, citrus, cacti, etc).

  • gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
    8 years ago

    "By 'special' potting mixes, I mean 'plant-specfic' mixes (i.e., for
    plants that need acidic soil, succulents, citrus, cacti, etc)."

    I figured that :-) And just like you do not need to have an array of plant-specific fertilizers, you also do not need a variety plant-specific potting soils. One good quality mix that you could fine tune as necessary will work for any :-)


  • Pyewacket
    8 years ago

    Gritty mix will NOT necessarily "work for any of them". If you value your plants, try something that requires less maintenance first. Go ahead and try a gritty mix if you want to - if you can find the ingredients, and if you have the physical energy and ability to do all that screening - but only put a few plants in it, and preferably plants you don't much care about. It is a high-maintenance mix. It CAN work very well, and has for some people - but don't go putting all your plants in it first shot out of the barrel.

    I did that last year, much to my regret. My plants are now recovering from their extended torture trying to grow in gritty mix when I don't have the equipment or the energy to ride herd on them the way that mix requires.

    As for specific types of bagged mixes for each of the above plants - there are palm mixes for palms, and high-acid mixes for plants that like that - but a lot of those plants can be grown in very similar bagged mixes that are only slightly amended.

    Personally I would suggest posting on the specific forums related to growing specific types of plants (such as the Citrus forum, and the Palm forum, etc) and see what people who grow those are growing them in.

    I know, this is the "container forum" - but its mostly about general purpose growing. You need specialized information, so go to the specialty forums.


  • Gary in Riverside Ca (USA) USDA Zone 9b; Sunset Zone 18
    Original Author
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    Please see my new post pH ranges in this forum

  • gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
    8 years ago

    I'm not sure I would agree about any extra maintenance issues using either the 5-1-1 or gritty mix for long term container plantings. Routine watering and fertilization - yes, but this is required for ANY containerized plant. And watering requirements do bump up significantly in the heat of summer. I would much rather focus attention on more frequent watering of my fast draining potting soil than to risk the issues that will inevitably pop up when using a finer textured, more moisture retentive mix (like Miracle Gro).

    As stated previously, I grow extensively in containers and with a pretty wide range of plants - succulents and alpines, various shrubs and trees (Japanese maples, pittosporum, deutzia, bamboo, abelia, grevillea, dwarf conifers), raspberries, rhododendrons, hydrangeas, ferns, a bunch of herbaceous perennials, herbs and annuals. And of course, houseplants. All these plants have diverse soil and watering needs if grown in the ground but all share a similar, very durable, bark based potting soil. The only plants that have a distinctly different soil are my orchids - and they are grown in orchid bark, period. I don't alter my mix for pH requirements - that is far less of a concern in container culture than it is with inground plantings - but I do adjust the fertilizer applications to ensure the plant is getting the nutrients it needs for healthy growth. And that is essentially what soil pH is doing - limiting or increasing nutrient availability, depending on the plant.

    I am by no means an expert on container planting but I've been growing this way for a lot of years and with great success. And I have NOT seen any need to alter or customize soil mixes for specific types of plants. In my very personal opinion, one size does fit pretty much everything ;-)