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She has also written sponsored content for The Foundry 360, Dotdash Meredith's award-winning custom content studio. Her other bylines include HerMoney, Airfarewatchdog, Psych Central, PRiME Women, and more. Brittany is skilled in writing about a variety of topics, but her specialties are travel, lifestyle, and pet content. Brittany holds a degree from Minnesota State University, Moorhead. Succulent Plant Soil Natural All-Purpose Cactus Aloe Vera and Succulent Potting Soil 1 Quart Sized Bag Premium Fast Draining Mix.
It's also formulated to need less water, adding to its sustainable appeal—and helping to guarantee that your plants are still alive and thriving after you return from a summer vacation. Our choice for the overall best potting soil, PittMoss' Plentiful Organic Potting Mix is OMRI listed, which means it's been independently reviewed to adhere to organic standards. Most potting soil for indoor plants contains the essential nutrients to give new greenery a good jump start, or transplants the food they need. Wonder Soil Premium Organic Potting Mix does this, adds more ingredients and more to help indoor plants thrive, and it can be used with just about any plant. We evaluated the many potting soil products for their intended use, as well as their added ingredients, such as fertilizer, and other attributes such as water retention. Our top choice was Wonder Soil Organic for its unique blend of slow-release organic nutrients, sterility, and pet-friendly formula.
Miracle-Gro Nature's Care Organic Garden Soil
Marino provided insight on typical soil ingredients to look out for, repotting techniques, and other houseplant care tips. African violets, similar to orchids, do best with a specialized potting mix rather than an all-purpose soil. This option from Soil Sunrise is blended specifically for growing African violets, draining quickly to promote healthy, thriving plant roots and avoid rot. If you're planting right into ground and your soil could use a bit of extra nutrients, the Miracle-Gro Nature's Care Organic Garden Soil is our top pick for the best potting soil for gardening. The mix is an all-purpose selection, meaning it's designed to be used with a variety of plants.
Some commercial potting mixes can be used, but avoid those containing absorbent materials like vermiculite, hard-to-wet peat moss, or any that tout water-retention qualities. Peat is another common potting mix ingredient that you'll want to try to use sparingly because of its potential impact on the environment. When buying mixes with peat, look for sustainably harvested peat or an alternative such as coconut coir that's easier on the environment.
SuperMoss Orchid Potting Bark
However, some plants, such as orchids, violets, fiddle leaf figs, and cacti, are particular about their needs, so it is wise to purchase soil made for them. Optimized for outdoor use, this potting soil promotes stronger plants, making it a great choice for high-wind areas. This is a medium-weight option that allows for air porosity and good drainage, which all add up to creating those strong roots. The potting mix also contains plant food that will feed flowers for up to six months, which is the entire growing season for some climates. The potting soil uses partially petrified peat moss from sustainably-harvested peat bogs to promote the soil aeration and healthy drainage levels indoor plants need.
African violets are finicky about their pH, with the optimal range leaning towards the acidic side. Taking this into consideration, SunGro adds dolomite lime to naturally lower the pH of the soil. Home Depot is one of the most popular home improvement stores, earning over $151 billion in annual sales in 2021, offering a variety of products for DIYers and professionals alike . Whether you're building a house, renovating your bathroom, plastering holes in your walls, or updating your garden, you're sure to find products that fit your needs at the store.
Tips for Choosing a Good Potting Soil
These ingredients provide nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, powerful fertilizers that will make your plants grow quicker and produce more flowers, fruits, and vegetables. Ingredients like perlite, peat moss, and pine bark release these nutrients into the soil and can help produce a better-draining soil that is less susceptible to root rot, fungus, and other problems. Many brands contain ingredients that help the soil retain moisture to protect your plants from drought or hot weather that might cause the soil to dry out before you can water it. It’s always best to get a soil with good drainage, amendments to support growth and that is pH adjusted for indoor plants. When purchasing potting soil, what you need comes down to what you grow. Many of our recommended blends are all-purpose; for many projects, these are your best bets, as they serve a variety of plant types.
It's also free of animal products and is safe to use around pets and children. Sun Gro Horticulture Black Gold African Violet Mix may be especially formulated for African violets, but it is beneficial for any flowering indoor plant. It contains premium ingredients aimed at providing nutrients and retaining the right level of moisture. Sphagnum peat moss, perlite, volcanic pumice, and earthworm castings provide a healthy mix that is still light and airy. The mix is lighter in weight and isn't as dusty as some soil blends.
Nardozzi advises composting the soil if the plants that had been growing in it were diseased or infested with insects. When planting directly into the ground, consider whether the soil you have promotes drainage or retention of water. If you're not sure, you can test drainage by digging a 12- to 18-inch hole and filling it with water. Once it drains, fill it again and observe how quickly the water drains.
This is an all-purpose option that can be used for vegetables, indoor plants, raised gardens, and most other types of situations that call for a typical potting soil. It can even be used for grass seeding or for starting seeds. Natural ingredients, like feather meal, are incorporated to boost nutrients.
This professional formula can be used for traditional desert cacti, as well as jungle cacti. This important distinction means succulents, which cannot stand to have “wet feet,” can be kept dry. The organic mix contains plenty of perlite to keep the soil light and airy, just how cacti like it. This aeration also provides exceptional drainage, helping to prevent root rot, common in succulents and cacti. Despite the heaps of nutrients, the mix is lightweight and offers plenty of aeration, allowing for effective moisture retention.
The downside to Miracle-Gro Garden Soil All Purpose is that it is clumpy even after you break it apart and add it to your plants, so it can be hard to use. It’s also a bit dense for some plants, and many users report finding small pieces of plastic, glass, and other foreign objects in the soil. Empty the saucer of water, and next time back off a bit and water slowly, adding small amounts until just a few drops show in the saucer. Although succulents are low maintenance and thrive on neglect, the following care tips will help you get the most from your signature soil blend. When choosing sand alternatives, opt for rice-sized materials such as crusher dust or granite grit, ornamental pearls or bonsai pebbles, poultry grit, or turface.
To make your own signature blend for lush plants, let’s dig into the best succulent potting soil recipe. Peat moss, in addition to being a less environmentally friendly choice, tends to hold too much water, which isn't ideal for orchids since they like to dry out between waterings. If you're someone who often has a heavy hand when watering, you'll want to avoid peat moss. When starting seeds, it's important to find a specialized blend of starter soil. Hoffman's Seed Starter is actually soilless, which is helpful for germinating seeds. We chose it as the best potting soil for starting seeds because it's lightweight and holds moisture well—two things that seeds need to sprout.
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