This is a FANTASTIC video Daz :-D and such a FANTASTIC soil mix too

Thank you, thank you!! Your video is just exactly what I have been searching high and low for. I only have one succulent, a jade plant, which I learned recently I have abused terribly. My intention, of course, is to set things straight for him. Trying to find a clear, concise DIY succulent soil mix is like trying to find chicken teeth in a hay pile! 😅 I kept seeing "sand" as an ingredient. I knew regular play sand or ground sand like we have as a soil base in North Carolina was not going to work. Well, try finding what KZfaqrs mean by sand!! Finally, here you come with "grit" and now that makes sense! I've now got your recipe which I will be putting to use very soon! Now I know what I need to make this guy that I've had for about 8 years comfortable and happy. Again, thank you ever so much.

Спасибо за полезный ролик. Успехов в разведении растений!

Dazzy boy! Firstly, thank you so much for the wonderful cacti you shared with Lynn and Hans, it was so touching to watch. You made her soooo happy bud. Loved it! Loved this video too Daz. Your reason behind why you add what you add was enlightening. I especially liked the way you timed the drainage. That very scientifically, and beautifully demonstrated the ultimate goal of your soil mix, quick drainage. Brilliant video again and I thank you for sharing it with us. From the garden city of India to you and Edith, have a fantastic weekend! Cheers and God bless.

I'm going to be trying it 😉 good to watch again and see how it looks

Oh I will have to get some of these substrates. The squeeze test was cool and then the proof of drying out too... beautiful video with very streamlined text. Love your channel!

I really loved it. Very nice drainage test done.

Excellent nice to see a good simple straight to the point video on soil mixes. 👌 I use expanded clay pebbles - really cheap too (crush them up aswell where necessary) Lava rocks too, Perlite, I also add loads of fine flint bird grit (or granite chippings depending on my supplies! ) , and depending on plants, I have seperate bird grit with oyster shells added (calcium/limestone), sharp grit sand, Coco Coir for my soil/organic aspect now (stopped with peat a while ago) Bonemeal, activated charcoal granules! Also I add Ceylon Cinnamon powder into my mix too for added measure!

Thank you for this informative video. I'm leaning towards a soilless cactus mix for my cacti and yours is the closest to what I had in mind.

Your soil mix looks great!!! I love the way it looks! And WOW all your plants look AMAZING ❤️❤️❤️. Your collection is seriously beautiful!!!!! Thanks for sharing your soil secrets with us 😁🌵❤️

I am fascinated by this because three years ago I decided to divide up some Haworthias which were at least 40 years old and had been growing /existing in 3 very crowded plastic pots. I simply took them out of the pots and placed the plants straight into the ground / soil outside without giving them any extra care. I live in Melbourne. I had no idea how to grow them and what to do : I just dug holes and planted them. A year or so later , I divided them up again and simply replanted them again into the ground / soil outside in my garden. Fast forward three years and I now have at least 1000 very healthy looking Haworthias which have taken up my garden space so I was thinking I'd like to try and sell them. I watched this video to learn about how I should pot them correctly so I was fascinated by the care and detail of the "correct" potting soil. Mine have literally flourished in my back garden without any care whatsoever ! I shall definitely take your advice and make up the correct mixture because I want to do the right thing in order to hopefully sell them ... but seriously .. I must have well over 1000 plants now and they all came from three mother plants which were at least 40 years old. I'm looking for the most economical but appropriate potting mix and hopefully what you have described will work for me in Melbourne. Thank you

thankyou for sharing what you actually use.. great plants.. love the astro.. wow..

Hi Daz! First of all I would like to congratulate you on a very well presented video. It was clearly demonstrated giving us all a clear and precise understanding about the appropriate soul mix for cacti. I love your cacti collection at the end of the video. Very impressive indeed. 😍😍 All in all, a truly great informative video . Well done, Daz! 👏👏👏👏👍👍👍

Great tips!! 🌿🍃💛

Very helpful. Thanks!

I agree the comercial mixes fall short of being good, my mix is made of coconut coir for organic compound, decomposing dolomite lime stone for the gritty sand which I get about 2 miles away from where I live off bluffs by the river, I pick up rocks of it which are easy to crush and break down with ease, also for heavier grit I use limestone gravel which our country roads are paved with. The Ozarks sit on lime stone so the last two components are free and then a little perlite to give some air to the soil. All my chihuahua desert cacti thrive on this, ariocarpus, lophos, astrophytum and such. Gave up on peat mixes because of root burn on older plants especially. From Morris park in the Ozarks, have a great weekend!!!

This is incredibly useful! Its very VERY valuable to be able to compare what other expert growers are using and, by association, the results they're getting!

Very nice video - I like how you emphasize that this works for your climate conditions and you encourage us to use our brains to figure out what works for our climate conditions. I'm in Upstate New York, USA and our summer climate is even vastly different from our own winter climate. Our heating really dries out the air and everything living in that artificial climate. It's going to be interesting trying to figure out a happy medium for my cacti as this is my first time growing them. Thanks for the great suggestions and for your experimental presentation.

informative video sir DAz. salamat.....

This was great information. I’ve only recently had success with thriving succulents, and that’s because I learned from my mistakes of poor soil choice, and wrong sun exposure . Here in north Texas, summers are brutally hot and dry so I started mixing my own soil to hold more moisture and add in organic plant food. What a difference and a pleasure to see them loving their environment (: But I’ll use your mixture for any cactus I may purchase in the future. I can certainly see how they would thrive in your soil mix.

Great Video, Thank you very much. I will be using your recipe..

Thank you,peace…

Hi to you,I am as green as it gets,TOTALLY, just enjoyed your vid again And have started to view your channel ,well done, I must admit it was Good to see that you are growing in England, thanks again Bill.

Came here from Desert Plants of Avalon and liked your content...now I am a follower!!!🤩🤩

I will surely try this mixture sir 😊 in india scoria is called cinder 🤗 thanks for sharing valuable information ✌️

Great video, i use the John innes no2 and the horticultural grit but I might try adding some pumice 🌵🌵😊

helpful video. thanks

Washing the grit with hydrogen peroxide can be helpful depending on what you’re growing. Anything prone to root rot.But pretty much using the same, some construction sand I usually add as well…

Passando pra ver as novidades , abraço a todos que curte os vídeos do cactimania !!!

NICE IDEA

Thanks learnt a lot

日本ではすべて安価で揃えることができます、素敵な植物達ですね

Thanks that i was able to watch your video because that's my problem the mixture of soil for my succulent and cactus . Pumice and lava rock we have here but grit I'm not really sure ...

Looks great, I may try it myself!

I use pure Akadama and Pumice only. Fertilize with Pokon Cactus liquid fertilizer. They all do wonderfully. Thanks for the awesome video ❤

THANKS. Really helpful video, especially the drainage test. I'm working on my own succulent soil formula right now, and this offers some good points to think about. I need to fine nicely crushed lava rock here in the US like that!

This is by far the most informative and detail-oriented video from you, sweetheart. 😍 You’ve done research and experiment too. 🥰 I love the happy background music and the still shots you used to show us details clearly. I know your viewers will be happy with this video as I am, as well as the plants in this potting mix. Well done, my love. ❤️ So proud of your work. 🤗😘

Mabuhay!!

Amazing info daz I'm from Belfast UK and with are climate my cacti and succulents suffer big time, thanks for sharing daz I'm defo gona give this try. Take care

Very informative and well done video. Love all the tests that you made! I'm actually trying to follow the recipe but am struggling a bit with the lava rock/pumice part where I live. Is Pozzolan a good substitute for Scoria and Pumice? Thanks a lot!

Good for farm that. 👍👍👍👍👍

So like the scientific approach, brilliant. Maybe a digital weight scale to determine the volume of water retained? I'm learning 😌

Thank you for very informative and practical video. Makes a nice change to learn from clear photography and instructions/ideas. I am very new to cacti and succulents and am trying akadama, perlite, , basic compost and some grit. Hoping for success. What do you think?

Just discovered your informative and extremely helpful guide. I'm new to succulents and have been researching a good growing medium. My only observation on discovering your formulation concerns the water test towards the end: I see discolouration in the water exiting the pot, and wonder about the leeching away of organic material over time. I guess this concern is generic and applies to all free-draining mixes, but would really appreciate your thoughts on the matter. Thanks in anticipation :)

Mabuhay? Omg! 😍

The video I was looking for, thanks! Quick question, I live in New Zealand and I have a green roof to setup for sedums, creeping thyme etc... I can easily get scoria and pumice but for the rest I'm not sure how to supply. In addition, I will collect the water from the roof for drinkable water so I need the water to be as clear as possible. Do you think I could grow the plants on half pumice and half scoria?

One of your best videos, Daz! I like how you showed the roots grown in different kinds of soil mix. You seemed like a scientist and you did a good job proving results. As for me, you know I live in a climate opposite to yours. Very dry and arid so I need more moisture retaining ingredients. But it is enlightening to see how others do their soil mix. 🙂 Great video and very good script!👍🏼👍🏼

This was very helpful. I plan on using your soil mix. I plan on growing my succulents/cacti indoors under grow lights in either plastic or ceramic pots . I might have to add more compost because of my central air which makes my interior very dry , but I’ll see.

Hi Daz great video and very informative. just subscribed to your channel and look forward to many more hints and tips. wondered where is the best place in the UK to source the Pumice and Lave rock, do you get yours on line? Thanks.

Excellent drainage! Love this video 😍 If u get a chance, keep a look out for Akadama and Kanuma 👍🏻

Enjoyed watching the video.can you tell me how often you feed your plants and what do you use.

Hi there, thank you for this brilliant video. I am so pleased to find a UK based plant expert. Please tell me where you buy your pumice? Please make a video on how to grow gardenias indoors.

Thank you so much. I use 1/3 Pumice, 1/3 Akadama, 1/3 Lava rocks. 🙂

Really Interesting and informational video. Its great to find one that is actually UK oriented as many of the others are all US centric and the products mentioned all may as well be Element 120!!! However I am having issues trying to track down the Lava Rock that you mention, I have spoken with several suppliers, some of who advise that Scoria is the same as pumice! When from actual investigations online it is clearly similar BUT it is not the same! I would be very grateful if you could add a link to what you advise or at least give some more guidance as to exactly what it is you are using.

I can find everything except the fine lava rock. The lava rock i have is about 3/4 to 1 inch. Wonder if that would make much difference?

Amazing video, well done and excellently explained! Here in my part of Canada it can be a bit expensive for lava rock and pumice, so I substitute perlite and LECA, but use almost an identical mix ratio. Lost too many cactus to the pre-made mixes, and came to a similar solution as you, the humid winters make it tough to have more than 15-20% organics, and since switching I’ve seen similar flourishing in my cactus and euphorbia. Glad to see some reassurance from someone with more knowledge that I made the right move!

Fanatastic vid thiis is the mix i have been looking for. Where do you get your pummice and Lava rock from . Just wondered.

Hi, nice video... interesting and technical...i have all my cactus outside in spain, in a very humid place, close to de beach... I used to use a solid mix very draining... i notice though, they tend to get yellowish during summer months due to the sun effect... I figured that might be due to the fact that the soil is more mineral than organic, just like a lack of nutrients. Does this make sense to you? Or is just i should change soil more often. Cause, i have seen here, big cactus on smaill pots, with no need of reppoting at all thru years. I never got these results on mine. Might be general conditions? Best regards

At 4:29 you are showing un rooted plants i assuming are about to be repotted. I am going to re pot all of my cacti in a new gritty mix based on your video this weekend. My question for you is when I unpot my plants should i remove all of the old potting mis from the root system? It looks as if you have actually removed or even washed all of the dirt from yours. The reason i am repotting is i have learned that they are all potted in a mix with far too much organic material and not enough grit. Thank you in advance for any advice. Just discovered your channel and am now a new subscriber

Very interesting lecture. Where I'm living I don't have larva rocks, pumice, the grits I have is fine river stones also your compost that you used is it cow manure. What other substitute I can used Thank you. 👍

Hello. Instead of horticultural potting grit could I use like a natural type fish tank gravel?

Hi, IKEA have started to sell pumice! I've used the same pumice brand I ur video with akadama n other stuff had some great results... Just started to try the sanicat pink so too early to tell but if I can save money on the pumice then I could then use the akadama... Hope this helps

Hi, just want to say thank you for the educational video! I would like to clarify that you do use this mixture on your aloes like lace aloe in addition to your cacti? I got my first aloe plant today.

Thank you so much for your video. I'd definitely try this. I've been struggling with my mix. It's 50% peat moss and 50% pumice, but it doesn't fit with my climate. I live in tropical monsoon place and it rains almost everyday this year. My plants tends to get rotten after watering them. So, I tried to reduce it to once a week. But I still got rotten plants. I might need to reduce the organic part. I think your mix is the one that I need. But can I use vermicompost instead of regular compost? And for the inorganic part, I could only find pumice, perlite, black/red scoria and Ibaraki akadama. Please let me know which one to use and also the ratio.

Thanks very much for the video, very informative. I have just started out some six weeks ago to begin building a cacti collection, and intend to have a go with this mix as a start to work my way in. But my interest has got going at a time when we are entering the winter period and I want to repot all my cacti into the same mix. They are all indoors, on south facing windows with a radiator in the rooms which will be on for a period of time during the evening. The literature says beginning of the growing season is best giving very strong reasons why, but my natural impatience and new enthusiasm wants to go for it now! I would value any advice you can give me, many thanks.

You caught me off guard with that British mabuhay at the beginning 😂 Its nice to see kababayans in the youtube plant community ❤️

Hello, I have all components apart from horticultural grit. I do have natural fish tank gravel. Would this be ok?

Will a crushed terracotta pot work as a replacement for the horticulture grit??

I've heard you can use poultry grit instead of horticultural grit it's less expensive and easier to find 🤔 make sure it's not the oyster shells but the flint. I will still be trying this mix either way 😊

So-have several questions. Loam is primarily inorganic, so isn’t your organic contribution to the mix quite minimal? And when you first water, does the organic component drain out turning the water brown? Also, adding several different inorganic substrates… lava, pumice, etc-does that really provide any benefit given that they are inorganic? Can’t you just use lava rock and a nicely balanced organic fertilizer? Thank you for your time. I am new to cacti and trying to figure this all out. I come from the orchid world.

So you don’t have to sift anything? That’s nice . I’d read that all particles should be the same size to prevent compaction . I stopped sifting after awhile because there was a lot of wasted pumice , grit and turface . My plants seem fine without sifting . But I’ve had a few that had the roots mysteriously dry out on me . Those plants weren’t doing well and didn’t seem to be drinking the water I gave . When I unpotted them , they’d have dry , brown , thin roots . I’m thinking some of mine didn’t like the Turface . I’m gonna do lava rock in place of Turface for awhile and see how it goes . Great video. Thank you 😊

hi, where did you get lava rock from please?

Hi Daz, I was wondering if you need to fertilize more when using such an inorganic mix, and which type you generally would use? Interesting video!

Thank you so much for sharing your cactus and succulent soil mix. 🙏❤️ Did you wash the pumice , and why ?

I& you wake up in the middle of the night thinking you want to sell bags of this, let me know when morning comes...

I like this mix and have so far found my cactus seedlings are growing better than previously . But I’ve hit a brick wall here in UK in trying to replenish my lava rock supply. Can you tell me where to order some ? I am in Notts . Thanks a lot . Love your time lapse films in particular .

Has anyone used expanded clay pebbles and what is your experience with them?

If I don't have scoria can I use another part pumice or what would you recommend?

I really enjoyed this video. I ordered some cactus mix on Amazon and found out to my disapointment that the mixes are different in parts of the US and I don't trust what I got. I live in Florida and finding these ingredients seems difficult. I'm not sure what I can use to make this as I'd like to grow some of the cactus you mentioned that need very dry soil mix. I think I can get pumice and lava rock but not specifically scoria. That's the confusing part. Grit seems very general and may not be a word we use here. I keep getting results for sand. Lots of sand in Florida. And loam is basically non exist from what I have seen. Any advice?

I love this mix. By far simple and would avoid overwatering

Hi Daz lovely potting mix😀 where do you purchase the lava rock? Caroline

We don't have John Innes compost in the US, but you can look up the recipe online and make your own if you want to. What you call loam in Ireland, we call topsoil in the US. My recipe is very similar to yours except that, in place of the John Innes, I use a mixture of one part coarse vermiculite and two parts coconut coir. This makes a potting that is good for most non-desert plants. Be sure you get coarse vermiculite. Fine or medium vermiculite might as well be clay for all it's drainage value. Try the people who sell bonsai soil as a source of pumice. They also sell scoria, but I haven't tried it yet. Like pumice, it is expensive. I also add about a half cup of charcoal per peck of potting medium. I have found a source of coconut charcoal that is sold for air filters. The particles are about one millimeter , with little or no dust. The idea behind the charcoal is that it absorbs nutrients that would normally leach out of the soil and slowly releases them over time. (Google biochar) I've only been using charcoal for about ten months, but my plants seem to like it and it does add a little to the drainage qualities of the soil. My potting medium has almost no nutrients, so I do add some fertilizer as I pot the plants. I have been thinking of adding worm castings to the mix. What do you think?

This is exactly what I look for in a cacti channel. I cannot find a strainer that is less than 1 cm screen size so the openings are great big. I cant sift out the dust unfortunately. But I think my mix does ok. If you have any suggestions to find a decent strainer, let me know.

Le pones deshumidificadores?

Hello again from Ken in Japan. I always love watching your videos about cactus. If you sell cactus plants and seeds I would love to get some from you. I have many cactus here and seeing what you have makes me want to get more. I would even be happy to trade. Ok thanks God Bless from Ken in Japan

I've just recently purchased a small bag of Lechuza Pon (100% mineral/rock) which I am going to attempt using on Haworthias on a small and experimental scale. What is your experience with it? Few Haworthia growers advised me to avoid Scoria because it is usually crushed rock, so it has very sharp edges which can damage the Haworthia roots. Larger particles are most problematic, but my other succulents like cacti and crassulas seemed to do well with it. Maybe somewhere I can find weathered scoria with smoother grain, but I have not seen it yet.

Haha I use a mix of sand, grit and loam soil. I found this on lyn's channel haha

Do you add any insecticide/ pest control product to the mix?

How often do you water when you have a gritty mix?

For my cacti and succulents I use i mix of 20% zeolite, 20% lave rocks, 20% pumice, 35% perlite and 5% leca. I don't use any organic material, to be able to control pests, and to avoid rot. For my non-succulents I will ad a lot of vermiculite, to retain water and nutrients. I worry that the perlite will degrade over time and compact the media, and I worry that the lack of organics is a problem, becaue there is to little nutrients. What is your take on that? I do add cacti and succulent fertilizer every second or third month, in the growing season. I have all my plants in terracotta pots. I live in Denmark, and all my cacti and succulents are in south facing windows, with a little grow light to help them.

May I ask, do you measure your parts in weight or in volume? Just embarked on resurrecting an old lace aloe, which has been in the family for over 40 years. I knew it was unhappy, but didn't know what it needed (I'm a total novice). Thanks to your great repotting video I now know it's meant have ROOTS. Have just ordered all the soil mix ingredients.... Thanks for sharing

Hi Daz, I'm new to your channel. I'm looking for a good mix for my Lophophora. I'm in the UK too so this sounds perfect for me. I'm thinking of 15% compost, 25% horticultural grit, 30% Pumice (3-7mm Medium Grade from Kaisen Bonzai) and 30% Lapillo (fine grade from Kaizen). Does this sound good? Could I use this mix to pot up 1 year old lophophora seedlings? Is the 3-7mm Pumice too big do you think? I've also got some 5-7mm limestone chippings that I might add. Thanks!

When I look up horticultural grit, it takes me to pumice and coarse sand. 😅 So can I use like... my leftover perlite or granite?

Your compost seems to be washing away. Is there any left after 1 year ? What purpose does pumice, scoria, grit serve ? My mix is fairly basic: orchid bark, pumice, swimming pool sand ( large round sand ). I vary the ratios according to the species.

Would this mix work well for Crassula Ovata or would you add slightly more organic substrate to something like that? Btw I'm new to the channel but I love it already, looking forward to future videos 🙂

is it possible for the succulents to survive when the soil mixture is mixed with sand?

Hi man need help here. South of Italy so temperate climate. Indoor/outdoor little cactus and succulent. I have only pumice, Perlite, coco coir, expanded clay pebbles (building grade) and a mix of 75-% compost + 25% cow/horse manure, I’ve also a peat moss based soil (biobizz light mix). What of these ingredients could I use to make my mix? Which percentage? For example: 20 compost+10 coco coir+40 pumice+20 Perlite+10 clay pebbles ? Thanx

What size is your sifter

Do you use this soil mix for your lithops as well?

Hi.. thanks so much for your video.. i just wanna ask,is this soil mix is still the one you use? Is still good?.. is john innes no.2 you made is similar to soil mix?, like composition of organic materials, coconut fiber, pine barks, etc. And how do you measure the mixes each to 25%? Im in madrid.. and now its really cold here so maybe this mix is fit for my suculents.. seen your speaking also tagalog. Because im a filipino.. :) Thank you.. new to suculents.