Found out at a Austin plant swap that most 'succulent soil' you buy in bags is just fancy dirt with sand thrown in

I was at this big swap last Saturday over by Zilker Park and this old dude running a booth told me he mixes his own succulent soil with 60% perlite and 40% regular potting mix. Blew my mind because I've been paying $8 a bag for that cactus mix from Home Depot and it's basically trash. He said the big brands add too much organic stuff that rots the roots. Has anyone else tested this out or got a better mix ratio?

2 comments

2 Comments

david7391d ago

So if the bagged stuff is already bad, why would anyone think adding sand to it fixes anything when sand just makes it heavier and doesn't drain? I've been doing 50/50 perlite and pine bark fines for a year now and my succulents have never been happier.

nathan_hill601d ago

Oh man I finally found somebody else who gets it. I heard a guy on a gardening podcast break down why sand in potting mix is basically a scam for most houseplants and it all clicked for me. The sand particles are too fine so they fill in all the air gaps between the bark or perlite and turn your soil into concrete. I switched to pretty much your exact mix with some extra pumice thrown in and my echeverias stopped dropping leaves overnight. Plus perlite is way lighter so I can actually lift my pots without throwing my back out.