Potting Soil?

Question

What is the best potting soil to use for indoor plants? Name brands or does it matter? What should the texture be like? The kind I bought was moist feeling and very heavy? Should I repot them soon with something else? Thanks for the input.

Answer 1

Hello JDot -

Name brands do not matter as much as the quality of the soil and the need (and type of plant) which you are using. In fact, there are some brand-name soils which I keep away from or I use them as a base for creating my own soil after adding amendments to them.

As mentioned, it depends on the type of plants you are using - but, concerns over pH are important - but in determining a _general_ potting soil the most important factor is how well the soil drains (because it is most likely to be in a pot - therefore, you dont want it to be heavy as you mentioned).

My own personal mix is generally composed of a cheap commercial potting soil which I buy at the hardware store. I use half of this and add 1/2 perlite and 1/2 vermiculite. Also, if the plant requires much more drainage (such as a more succulent plant), I will also add horticultural/river sand to the mix. To this, I can add slow release fertilizer if it is a flowering plant (such as a bulb, etc) or another type of dry fertilizer to the mix. I mix this all up in a large unused pot and keep it available. Again, this is just a very general mix - but, I've not found it go wrong with my plants. Obviously, if you are planting orchids, azaleas, etc then you may require more organic or acidic matter - which you can then lean to the pre-packaged mixes for a better solution.

Happy Potting!

Answer 2

I have always used "Hyponex" brand potting soils with good results. I suppose if I potted or repotted lots of plants on a frequent basis, I might go a cheaper route and mix my own. In my experience, most potting soil has a moist feel to it and I wouldn't worry about it.

Good luck with your gardening.

Answer 3

All plants have a certain PH and drainage that they require. If your soil is multi purpose, but your plants aren't, then you should check the soil that they came in to see if you need to implement it with perlite or vermiculite. For PH levels, you can find the plant name on a website and see what each type requires.
Good luck!