Why don't you email them? They have a "contact us" button on their website.

https://altmanplants.com/

If the media is peat, like they typically use, then there is the possibility that the reason the media seems free draining could be because it has dried out. When peat is dry, it becomes hydrophobic (sheds water instead of absorbing it).

Thanks all- great idea to email them, Socks. I feel really silly for literally not having thought of that at all. I thought it was dried peat as well, Paul, but it seemed thoroughly wet throughout when I did a little investigating. I’ll definitely email them though! Maybe it’ll be something enlightening :)

Aleena

That is the flip-side of peat! It could be extremely dry and hydrophobic as socks explained, or opposite - very wet.

Peat is used by many growers since it is inexpensive, very light (makes difference in handling plants and shipping). If kept "just right", it works. But that is usually not so easy for typical person...It usually gets to these extremes in stores, where they have "watering" days and water all their plants.

Rina, I think after some consideration I probably will just plant this guy in the gritty mix I have. You’re right about keeping peat “just right” and altogether it’s probably not worth all the potential failure! :P

Aleena

Many growers (while not all) have automatized systems for temps and moisture controls. And don't forget - this is their full time job! It isn't so easy to replicate their condition at home. If you have lots of time to spend with your plants, it would be easier to grow them in something that needs more attention. Lots of experience and knowledge helps - there are ppl here that use sand for example, but I would strongly advice against it (unless very grainy/coarse), for any beginner :)

Why don't you post photo of your plant?

Excellent points!! I think I do tend to forget about it being a full time job — how I wish that was my job!

I don’t have a photo at the moment but will post when I get home :)

I think it may actually have been propagated from that leaf in the front- if it’s possible that the leaf would have stayed so plump?? It seemed like everything sprouted from that one. Could be an illusion though!

Ps don’t mind the cactus pad peeking out from the bottom :P

I doubt leaf alone would have stayed so healthy, but if it had even short piece of trunk it could have. Looks quite good in the photo. Hopefully it will grow compact with supplemental light.

Kalanchoe on right seems to be in very large pot (blue one) - is it large plant?

It has a pretty large root ball on its own, and it shares the pot with a couple of other plants as well!

I bought an Altman’s plant today, neon breakers. Managed to crush it in the car on the way home. I’m repotting now. Here’s a picture of the potting mix. Looks like peat and a little perlite to me. It wasn’t bone dry petrified hard nor was it soggy. Probably works ok for Temporary conditions.

I totally avoid any use of peat - it is either too soggy, prolonged wet can cause rot - or dried out, thus hard and hydrophobic - also the digging up of peat bogs is environmentally unsound, and destroys the habitat of some endangered flora and fauna. Others have said that one bonus of peat is that it is light. Well that is a minus for me - my plants sit exposed to the elements outside most of the year enjoying the Mediterranean sun. If I were to use peat and perlite (another pet hate, actually) in plastic pots they would fly about whenever the wind blew - so it is a gritty mix - lots of stone - in terra cotta pots - good and heavy.

I've gotten to dislike peat moss as much as the next guy (and gal), but it's not going to get water repellent (hydrophobic) by the time it gets from the grower to the customer. (!) The type of mix growers use can drain very well at first. It's only from overwatering that it gets soggy, or the opposite if it's been sitting dry, baking in the sun (really awful), or just old.

Spanish Fly, could you let us know your mix again? I know you've written it before. Your huge cacti do great. I realize we all have different situations, but I'm just curious.

Jeff

It could and does get hydrophobic by the time it gets from the grower to the customer. If you never bought a plant that had hardened, dry peat around root ball, you are very lucky. Really, it happens often enough. Even if grower did water it properly, but stores/sellers most often don't. They either overwater or underwater. Later happens more often...

Wow. They must be using old soil or the plant must be old or baking (or cooking as myermike says :). I've never in 20+ years seen that happen that quickly to me. I was thinking Altman's was mail order but I reread the OP. I stand corrected.

Jeff

I am referring to any plants, not only plants from Altmans. As said many times before by many ppl, if you happen to get plants from 'fresh' delivery to the store, potting mix (most often peat), is usually in good condition. But longer they spend in the store, worse it is. I have asked in few different stores - even couple of GH, in very different locations and was told about 'watering days'. Many members here mentioned that too. It gets worse in stores that do not specialize in plant sale, like BBS (Big Box Stores - Lowe's, Home Depot, Wallmart and similar). And as it gets colder and plants are kept indoors, it could get even worse. Sometimes, store has just few shelves with plants and they hardly water them, and they easily become hydrophobic. It is better if they have bigger plant area, but even there many different plants are too close to each other. Overwatering happens more often.

Mail order is different - depends on how long plants spend in transit; who and how caring is seller; how they are packaged and so on. More often, plants are mailed bare root. Roots may or may not get damage (broken, desiccated...) - that again depends on conditions already mentioned.

Sorry, I am not trying to argue with you, obviously you have much better experience and that is great. Places you get your plants from must have better educated sales staff and/or pay more attention to varieties of plants. That is great, and would be even better if every seller (not grower) did the same.

ETA: Bigger problem could be after plant is purchased. Unless person has good info, and/or has time to check on every plant regularly, they easily overwater and sometimes underwater. Many ppl know that (many) succulents grow in mostly arid areas, and stop watering with best intentions. If plant is in peat, it will, very easily, become hydrophobic.

No problem. Most plants I have were from a garden center and then repotted by myself at some point, or shipped bare root if succulents and cactus. So I really don't have a lot of experience with big box stores or places that sell old plants, unless they're on sale later in the summer, but still have not seen problems yet. I don't disagree with what you're saying. I wouldn't want anyone to get wrong ideas from anything written by me.

I went to Home Depot today and got to see all kinds of weird stuff, including dried out peat moss. Diifferent than peat or peat humus--a distinction should be made. If you think peat moss is bad...

And here is a fork stuck in years-old peat moss based soil. I'm not holding onto the fork, and the fork was almost not enough to get it off the roots.

I actually use both.

I love the mixes that have some peat, but not the kind from the stores and never straight from the bag. I usually integrate crushed stone or pumice and sometime per lite

in the peat mixes to help keep my potted plants like Christmas Cactus and Jades since they dry our too rapidly in my conditions,.

Then I use the grittier mix void of all peat for the ones that can handle being bone dry before I get home by the end of the day. I will use the gritty in plastic containers for those that dry out too fast and those in clay that need to dry out by end of day.

It amazing how much we can manipulate our mixes to do what's best for our plants and us!

Rina really explained well

Mike

Jeff

I would like to know what you mean by dried out peat moss. Are you talking about stuff that is used to line baskets, to make wreaths, to decorate?

Rina, https://garden.org/ideas/view/drdawg/1972/Sphagnum-Moss-vs-Peat-Moss/

I know the terms. Boy you guys are picky. What I meant is just what you said earlier, dried out peat moss in pots that contain succulents from Home Depot. It was a mea culpa (sp?) of sorts. I know what Sphagnum Moss is. They had that too, not in pots, but that's not what we're talking about. (Tongue sticking out.) I shouldn't have gone on my rant, but I can be picky too. Peat is different than Peat Moss which is different than Peat Humus (or maybe that's just peat) which is different from Sphagnum Moss. A local nursery used to sell peat based potting soil (not peat moss). That stuff was like asphalt after a couple years. I saw it in my friend's homes. I couldn't even use it indoors at all. I have some potting soil right now that has some peat humus in it and it's black and heavy. I could take a photo if anyone wanted.

Thanks for your mixes Mike.

Jeff

You misunderstood - and I did too. I didn't understand that what you were posting was ..." It was a mea culpa (sp?) of sorts"...

Sorry that I asked, I was not picky...just wanted to know what did you mean by saying ..."all kinds of weird stuff, including dried out peat moss. Diifferent than peat or peat humus--a distinction should be made"... I'll try not to question when not clear to me.

Not trying to be snarky, but here is the difference between peat and peat moss. Like I said, if you think peat moss is bad, you should see soil with plain peat.

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/difference-between-peat-peat-moss-27490.html

Rina, we're posting between each other.

I'll try not to question when not clear to me.

I apologize. I was going to give myself a moratorium on writing about peat (moss) too because we're getting a little frustrated. All I'm saying is there's a distinction. When people write 'peat', they usually mean peat moss, but there is plain peat. And I'm saying that if you guys can be picky, so can I! :)