succulent soil mix
hdladyblu_2007
16 years ago
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tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
14 years agotride26
14 years agoRelated Discussions
Succulent Soil Mix for Central Louisiana (humid weather)
Comments (16)Yes thse are the right ingredients, but the recipe is not as important as the reasoning behind it. You need fast drainage and for that you need a large particle size for the medium. The ratio of those ingredients is going to depend on the plant being grown and the environment in which it is grown. For instance a jade plant in Arizona is going to need a mix that retains more moisture than a jade plant in Florida or Louisiana. Most people underestimate how much moisture gravel can retain. I have succulents in a 3:1 mix of pea gravel:turface in Los Angeles that has very low humidity and no rain in the summer. The bark and turface are moisture retentive while the grit is not. You will probably want more grit in your mix than bark or turface. But then granite gravel (poultry grit) is very heavy. Because of that many people substitute 3/8" lava rock (scoria or cinder) for the granite. That said, if you start with equal parts of the three ingredients you have listed you will be off to a good start. They get their nutrients from either a controlled release fertilizer that gets mixed in to the planting medium or from a water soluble fertilizer that gets mixed in with the irrigation water. Make sure to get a fertilizer with micronutrients as well.. No, a mister spray bottle is not right. You want to thoroughly wet the container medium by watering until water comes pouring out the bottom of the pot. Read this link for information about container media. Here is a link that might be useful: Container media...See Morecacti/succulent growing medium
Comments (2)I have started to use Turface as recommended by Al ("tapla"), it is just $10.50 for a 50-lb bag. Great stuff if you can find it. Exceptional properties....See MoreOdd growing pattern to end of succulent leaves
Comments (2)A photo would help immensely. Avg. temp outside might be mid 50s, but what is more important is the temperature inside the house. That's going to affect the plants more than the outside temperatures.........See MoreFirst time growing succulents - what soil ingredients to use?
Comments (6)May I ask what is 'cucumber soil'? Most of us do not use vermiculite. And prefer not to use peat. The recipe you found is good; as mentioned on the site you linked to, Al (tapla) is long-time member of this forum (this used to be Garden Web, bought up not too long ago by houzz...-:( They posted a link to his post about Container soils - hopefully you had chance to read it. You don't need to make mix exactly as Al suggested, but -if the concept is understood - make one from materials available that would perform same or very close to it. Many ppl use just C&S soil and perlite. If so, they mix it in minimum 1:1 ratio, and often use more than 50% of coarse/sifted/rinsed perlite to achieve good drainage. I wouldn't use extra peat, there is usually plenty of it in C&S soil. Many of use mostly (or 100%) inorganic mix. Grit is very good ingredients, and hopefully you find it. We get poultry - chicken grit, that is easy to find in farm supply stores and quite inexpensive. Make sure, if you find it, to get one without addition of crushed shells... It would help if you posted photos. Sempervivum 'chicks' do not have to have roots when divided - they will grow them soon. But it is not necessary to divide them...they naturally grow forming big clumps, and often look very good like that. Obviously, it is your choice and you should do as you like... May I ask what seeds did you sow?...See Moretapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
14 years agotride26
14 years agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
14 years agoshanielynn
14 years agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
14 years agoshanielynn
14 years agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
14 years agoshanielynn
14 years agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
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tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)