New to succulents! Almost everytime I take my daughter to our favourite greenhouse for the outdoor garden or standard plants she cons me into another succulent with a cute pot to match.
I (stupidly) have never repotted these guys and they are so due. I thought I researched right and bought this potting mix shown here, but I obviously have no idea what I am doing as now it asks for nutrient rich soil. gah!!
What is the best suggestion to pair with this potting mix I bought?
Not so invested that I really want to DIY a bunch of mixtures, but I will if I have to because they make her happy.
TIA!
by Complete_Picture_143
6 Comments
Hi! It seems like you may be new to succulents. If so, we recommend taking a moment to read the [Beginner Basics](https://www.reddit.com/r/succulents/wiki/beginner-basics) wiki and the [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/succulents/wiki/faq) to get up to speed on succulent care and find answers to common questions.
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What does the soil you have look like? Succulents dont need a lot of nutrient. A handful of organic soil will keep the healthy for a long time. What they require is soil that drains and drys fast. They wanna be drowned throughly, and dried for extended amounts of time. So your goal for your soil isn’t nutrient density. Its grit and drainage. With less than 50% organic soil for most succulents. Some even require less than 10% organic and 90% grit. What kind of plants do you have?
Even though the soil is made for cactus and succulents, it’s still good to do a 50/50 ratio of the soil and perlite ☺️
Unless you have a specialty nursery near you, there’s really not much you can buy. I started making my own two years ago and the results have been game changing. Mine is 25% regular potting soil, and 75% perlite and pumice. I bought three big bags of each, and mix it as I use it in one of those Lowe’s paint buckets. They’re succulents… keep it simple! Good luck!
Your bagged soil is absolutely fine. It’s got all the nutrients you need. The only thing you have to do to it is add grit so that it drains and dries properly.
If you want to supplement nutrients, you do that with some fertilizer later. You can use an all-purpose potted plant food diluted to half strength, or something that’s formulated for succulents. How often to give it depends on what you’ve got. I use Schultz liquid formulas, and just add a few drops to the watering can maybe once a month when I think about it. Granule types are usually slow- and long-releasing, so you may need to apply those only once a year.
Are you able to open the bag and share a picture of what the soil itself actually looks like? I can’t tell how gritty it actually is.
The general recommended starting substrate mix for succulents is roughly a 1:1 mix of organics to inorganic !grit. I personally just do a 1:1 mix of Miracle Gro cactus and palm to Miracle Gro perlite.