Cacti and succulent mix

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brooklynbridge24
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Location: Beaudesert, Queensland, Australia

Cacti and succulent mix

Post by brooklynbridge24 »

Hello all. I'm trying to make my own potting mix for my cacti and succulents and would like to know if what I am planning will be a suitable mix or if I should change anything.
At the moment I have bonsai potting mix, perlite and blue metal gravel available to me. And can also buy coarse sand and coir. I was thinking of using all of these equally to make a mix that is 2/5 organic (potting mix & coir) and 3/5 mineral (perlite, gravel & sand).
I have a range of different cacti, succulents and mesembs so will they each prefer a different mix and can I get away with cheaper alternatives for any of them?
Thanks for any help
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Bonsai potting mix
Bonsai potting mix
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Bonsai potting mix
Bonsai potting mix
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Perlite
Perlite
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Blue metal gravel
Blue metal gravel
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esp_imaging
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Re: Cacti and succulent mix

Post by esp_imaging »

No idea what blue metal gravel is. If it's limestone, (it looks like it could be) it's best avoided.
Sand is generally not recommended, larger grain size (say 2mm upwards) is better.

It does depend on what you want to grow and your climate - Epiphyllums may be delighted with pure bonsai mix if kept well drained. Vigorous, easy growing plants (say Trichocereus) may be happy with a 40% organic mix, an Ariocarpus collection may want a much higher proportion of non-organic.
A small diverse collection of Cacti & Succulents
Based in the UK
http://www.edwardshaw.co.uk/cacti
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greenknight
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Re: Cacti and succulent mix

Post by greenknight »

I'd never heard of blue metal gravel either, but it looks just like the basalt they quarry around here - so I googled it, it is indeed crushed basalt. No lime in that, it's perfectly ok to use.
Spence :mrgreen:
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brooklynbridge24
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Location: Beaudesert, Queensland, Australia

Re: Cacti and succulent mix

Post by brooklynbridge24 »

Thanks esp_imaging and greenknight. I have very variable weather here that can be heat into the high 30°c and very dry, to rain for a week straight with barely any sunlight. My collection consists of a lot of mammillaria and echinopsis at the moment but is moving towards more astrophytum. I also keep haworthia and a range of mesembs.

So if use 20% potting soil, 20% coir and 60% gravel/perlite will that be a reasonable mix? The article "Making Your Own Cactus Soil" on CactiGuide has a 25% soil, 25% coir and 50% perlite mix so I assumed maybe coir doesnt exactly act as an organic component?
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Nic
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Location: Albion California zone 9

Re: Cacti and succulent mix

Post by Nic »

There is no standard for cactus soil, some people grow theirs completely without soil, an fertilize every time they water.

http://www.cactiguide.com/forum/viewtop ... 31&t=34730

While other people will use more organics, as in said article. It all depends on where you live and what is available to you. In Indiana, wwheere I live, it is wet and humid, so you would need a rather low organic mix, but someone in southern Arizona, where it is as hot dry, could get away with amounts of organic material that would rot most cacti if it was used up here. I hope this was helpful and I didn't babel to much.
There is no cactus you can't eat, but you just might regret it if you eat the wrong one.
DaveW
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Re: Cacti and succulent mix

Post by DaveW »

A friend of mine says you can grow cacti in anything if you get the watering right, meaning the soil staying wet for too long is what kills them. Cacti and Succulents often grow in what we would consider some very unsuitable soils in habitat. Also deep soils in open ground drain to lower depths away from the plant roots far quicker than in pots. That is why mimicking habitat soils for pot cultivation does not work.

As Nic describes, it depends on how quickly your conditions or climate will dry the soil in the pot out. In dull old UK we need quick draining and drying mixtures in order they dry quickly. The usual test for a good draining mixture is after top watering the water should sink into the soil surface almost immediately, at least take no more than 15 seconds to do so.
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