Medium..

11 years ago

I want to start phasing out the sand. Its working fine for me right now because I put a lot of perlite in it along with some cactus soil for some more organic material. But I want to move to a better gritty mix next year when I re pot. and when I get new plants I would like to start them off in a gritty mix as well. I also mix peeples into my soil but not as much as the others materials I have mentioned. What do you use for your Succulent & Cacti mix?

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tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)

11 years ago

I think the important part of the ability to conceptualize what's most likely to work the best for individual plants or groups of plants is an understanding of the influences that determine how water behaves in a medium. The essence of water behavior in media is pivotal on three things (other than gravity). The tendency of water to stick to itself (cohesion), the tendency of water to stick to other materials (adhesion), and the total surface area of the particles in the mix, which is another way of saying 'particle size'. The internal porosity of soil particles is covered under adhesion and surface area, but it's probably a good idea to mention it so it's noted.

You can start with an assortment of ingredients that can be mixed in such a way that they might come close to collectively producing a near perfect soil, but you can also mix the very same ingredients in such a way that they produce a soil most would consider unusable, so particle size and the ratio of each ingredient to the others is an important factor to consider if your goal is maximizing the soil's potential to support a plant that is growing as near as possible to ITS genetic potential.

You might or might not have interest in exploring what makes a soil tick. If you do, there is a concept described in this thread (click me) that if understood and implemented should make a difference in all your container gardening ventures.

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Comments (10)

Phil UK zone 8b
11 years ago
I am just starting in adenium after keeping cacti and succulents on and off for several years.

Different plants do have different needs and some are more prone to rot than others.

I am trying a basic mix with adenium at present, light, free draining and good aeration for the roots, so I am using coir mixed with growstones.
cactusmcharris, interior BC Z4/5
11 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
A combination of Turface, chicken-grit and sieved potting soil, but you might want to research the subject here - it's been written about numerous times. Just use the search function on the main page, and you'll be rewarded with hours of fascinating reading. It really is only about (1) what works and (2) what's available to you.
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Crenda 10A SW FL
11 years ago
Bob - I have much wetter weather than Sacramento and my plants stay outside all year long. So I use full bore gritty mix with Turface, chicken grit (or perlite in a pinch) and bark. That is what works for me. Some of my plants - Echeveria, for example - like a little screened soil added.

Like cactusmcharris said - what matters is what works for you and your plants.

Good luck!
Neil
11 years ago
Al- I wish you had your own tv series!
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
11 years ago
That was kind. Thanks, Neil!

Al
rina_Ontario,Canada 5a
11 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
Al

nice to see you here :)

I learned a lot from reading the link Al provided when I joined GardenWeb (now houzz) few years ago. It is a lot to read (and to understand) if one doesn't know anything about soils, but very well explained and something I bookmarked and return to read often.

I use gritty mix for all succulents I have. Since I have hard time to find suitable bark, I eventually started leaving it out, but I use turface, grit and perlite all the time. Very few plants have little soil or coir (maybe 10-15% of total volume) added. I leave them outdoors as long as weather permits, and let them have some showers. Excess water drains very well, and I don't have problem with over-watering now - if many sunny days in row, I double check them to make sure they are not totally dried out. All of the containers have drainage hole too. On days when it rains really heavily or for few days in the row nonstop, I pull plastic sheet over to protect them.

First time ever, this year I grew few hot peppers from seed - and at least one of each is potted in gritty with very little soil (max. 10%). I wanted to see how would they grow, and I think they are great. I also potted up few brugmansias in same mix and they 'like' it, only have to make sure they get lots of water - but brugs are known to be thirsty plants.
Bob Davis
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks for all your posts, sorry if its been talked about before. Ill start doing searches before I ask questions next time.
cactusmcharris, interior BC Z4/5
11 years ago
Bob, no problem, just letting you know of more information out there.
breathnez
11 years ago
And we can all stand to study it more, so the question is welcome!

ez