Hi Zusya..Each and everyone of us here on GW use mixes we deem appropriate..Some people use soil directly from a bag and are satified with the results. Others arent.
I haven't found any bagged soils I feel benefit each and every plant..so, I mix my own.
Sorry, I'm unfamiliar w/Forti-Lome brand..Do you consider it a heavy or light soil? In other words, is there a lot of peat which would make it light? Is it well-draining?
A well-draining soil is most important when it comes to growing (most) plants.
In my experience, I find most bagged soils either too heavy or too light..so, in the last, oh goodness, let's say 20+ yrs, (S) I've been mixing my own.
Most soils sold here are rich, black..(and heavy) Therefore, in a large container I mix house plant soil, sand, (not beach sand) Perlite, and a bit of peat. (I do not add peat for Cactus and succulents)
This mix should work well for the plants you have. You may need to experiement, but the object is to mix enough of each medium so after watering, the soil doesn't remain wet for long periods..Of course this depends on pot size, which is another topic, but as long as your plants are not overpotted, and you're not a habitual waterer, lol, your plants will do well..Good luck, Toni

I'm not familiar with that brand either. I use a soilless potting mix, swore off MiracleGro years ago. I buy Sunshine, Fafard, or ProMix, whatever I can get. Usually have to go to a large, high-end garden center to buy it, but it's worth every penny.

Also, try to find a place that doesn't store it out in the rain, or at least buy dry bags. Wet bags often come with fungus gnats, and you DON'T want to bring those home!!

I guess I would call it a heavier mix... it is dark, almost black, and moist even in the bag (which I store indoors). I've noticed, however, that different plants seem to retain water in the mix differently. For example, when I water my Philodendron Xanadu and Majesty palm, about a week later the mix is very dry. Conversely, I only watered my tiny Green-Island Ficus once, on the day I brought it home. That was many weeks ago, and the soil is still completely damp. It looks perfectly healthy.

Should I worry about this? I can see that my fittonias and ferns appreciate being constantly moist, but I don't want to oversaturate the others. My last ficus met a bitter end.
Thanks for the advice!

Hi, Zusya. I left this post on another thread recently. You may find some guidance in it that will help you decide what an appropriate soil is and/or what ingredients are/are not appropriate in soils:

Drainage and aeration go hand in hand and share a linear relationship (as one increases, so does the other). There are two very important considerations in deciding whether a soil is appropriate or not. How well your soils drain, and how long they will last. How well they drain is simply a product of the size of the particles in the soil. The larger the particles, the larger the air spaces and the less water held between particles and the better the soil drains. Also, the more internal porosity in each particle, the more water it holds inside the particle. So coarse and porous particles like Turface and pine bark serve extra duty - they provide large macro-pores in soil by virtue of their size, and they increase water-holding ability by virtue of their tremendous internal porosity.

Fine particles, like builders sand, compost, worm castings, topsoil - reduce aeration, increase water retention, and support an increasingly high "perched water table" (the soggy layer of soils that occurs at the bottom of the container) - and all three are something to avoid. Large particles, like pine bark, perlite, Turface, and other mineral products in the 1//16-1/8 inch sizes are excellent amendments that increase drainage, reduce water retention, and improve durability of soils.

"How long soils will last", which is the same thing as saying "how long soils will continue to drain well" is a function of what they are made from. Soils that are predominantly peat, or peat/sand mixes shouldn't be expected to last for more than a growing season w/o some compromise in plant vitality. Soil longevity continues to increase as a higher % of long-lasting ingredients is used to make it. Pine bark breaks down at approx 1/4-1/5 the rate of peat, so a bark based soil with a fractional amount of peat and perlite will remain productive and conducive to good plant vitality for at least 4 times as long as a peat-based soil. A soil that's high in mineral content (like Turface/perlite/crushed granite/others) will increase soil longevity even further - to the point where soils will last (drain well and provide continued total porosity above 50%) for longer than it takes the plant to become so root-bound it must be repotted or potted-up to preserve vitality.

If you want to read more extensively about soils, try the link below for a discussion about houseplant soils, or this one about the physics of water movement/retention in soils.

Al

Here is a link that might be useful: Click on me to review a discussion about houseplant soils