Ashley, this video is great. It seems like very few gardeners on RU-vid take the time to really explain some of these things. If they do, they say something to the effect of "I use cactus soil because I have found that it is the best." That doesn't really help someone like me who is trying to learn why it's the best so that I can begin to build on that knowledge. Sort of curious as to your take on plain old store bought Miracle Grow potting soil. I know that it has bark and pearlite in it, but my sempervivums and echeverias seem to love it if I only water them once a week under 10 hour per day grow lights. Please keep up these wonderful videos of yours!
Craig I agree! I would rather have Plain old miracle grow potting soil for most of my succulents than "cactus mix" for the most part! I find echeveria and sempervivum do just fine in it also, unless they are in too large of a pot, but then it's not the potting soil's fault! As far as succulent soil pre made, miracle grow is still my favorite also as far as the likelihood of my plants liking/tolerating it. I haven't used that in a while, but in a pinch it can work fine for many succulents. Some miracle grow mix has more bark than others, and I prefer the barkless option myself. But if I had to pick one single thing to add to miracle grow mix to help succulents it would be pumice! Pumice is SO amazing! I never knew what all the rave was about until I used it! And 1/2 pumice , 1/2 regular miracle grow can make a pretty darn good mix for most non mesemb succulents. Yes, ideally making your own without any peat is "best" for most succulents, but I have had many thrive over the years in miracle grow mix! I think when succulents are struggling, that's when it's good to adjust and move away from more traditional potting mixes, or for mesembs. BUT, as long as they are happy and thriving, I never see a reason to encourage people to change their potting mix. The one exception is I do often warn people that what works in the summer, may not work in the winter. And to be aware and watch out for soils holding too much moisture for too long in the colder months. But if it's not a problem, no need to switch anything up in my opinion! 😁
Thanks so much, I'm using porous clay pots under the grow lights as well in my zone 6, so that is probably why they are doing okay in November in the regular miracle grow. I do have one other question but you have gone way beyond what you need to in trying to help me so if you can't reply, I will understand. I'm not sure what the difference is between plain small pebble rock and pumice. I know that pumice is the residue from a volcano, and is porous, but it only holds water for a very short time as you demonstrated in the video. I am not able to find pumice at this time of the year in the middle of Kansas, not sure if I can find it in the summer either. Doesn't little tiny garden rock work about the same, holding moisture for a short time but not long? I keep thinking that small pebble rock is porous as well. - Thanks so much.
Hello Craig, and hello Ashleen, thanks both of you for your kind and helpful information. I have been running the same tests for my tropical plants mix, I hope to get one day into cactus and succulents with this kind of information you provide. I have a question for you Craig, as your light setup, I cannot hang something to my ceiling, nor pierce it, what kind of pole would you recommend so I can plug in lights.
Craig I decided to just make a quick video answering this question from my perspective, and just uploaded it this morning. I plan to make a more detailed video on pumice soon, explaining some of the more unique properties of pumice, cause it certainly is an amazing rock! You CAN certainly use aquarium gravel, but I wouldn't consider them comparable, but there are advantages to using those types of stones in certain situation if you can't access Pumice. Check out the new video, and if I didn't answer your question satisfactorily or clearly enough please do let me know! ;-)
Thanks for explaining this in relationship to pot size! I transplanted some of my mature succulents into large pots with cactus mix and new shoots did not do well. My last transplant was 70% pumice and 30% desert mix. I have my fingers crossed.
Great video. Many sources don't even bother putting anything into numerical context and I require said context. However, I am metric and imperial units go over my head. The British sure did create an impractical system of measurement... hence why we ditched it in 1965 and use SI units instead (meters, grams, etc).
Because pumice is only found her via mail order, I use aquarium gravel (Walmart). My dry friendly succulents love it (but you have to water it weekly in summer for sure)
Ashley, I meant to ask this question when I watched your pumice vs other rocks video but totally forgot. I use pumice as a top dress. I don't have lithops. I have some cacti and other succulents as well as numerous tropical plants. Do you think I get the same nutrient value as I would if I were using in my mix? It is more expensive than perlite so I think that is why I haven't mixed it in my soil. Thanks for all you do when putting up vids for us plant mommies (and daddies).
Great video, thank you. My store bought cactus mix is still sopping wet in my clay pot from yesterday. So many RU-vid people recommend cactus mix but it always stayed too wet for me. Unknowingly I was adding extra perlite to help with drainage!
Dawn Pleasant pearlite is still recommended for drainage, as it dries out faster, and allows more air into the soil. In 3 days the pearlite had evaporated 1/2 of the water it had absorbed, and if it were larger pieces it would be more, and less would have been absorbed. So it's still a good choice for some things. I just know people don't realize how much it still holds... pot size is another huge factor, and the pot material itself. If these were clay pots instead of plastic, it would be evaporating much quicker as well. But as long as your plants are happy, for many succulents staying wet for a few days isn't problematic at all. As long as they are able to dry completely out between Watering, many of the commonly available succulents will do just fine! Good luck with your babies and I hope you find a mix that works well for you! 💓
Ashley Glassman thanks Ashley. Tomorrow I'm going to the feed store to see if they have dry stall for my lithops. I'll leave my other plants as they are but I want to transfer my lithops into pumice. I only have three little ones. The rest of my cacti and succulents can hold off until spring.
Thank you so much for this very in depth informative video! May I ask do you use pure pumice for your lithops? If not, what soil mix do you use for lithops? Also please do a pumice vs lava rock video. Thanks again! Cheers!
neodrumz, I use pure Pumice on some of my lithops, and others I use a mixture of Pumice, sand, vermiculite, and a small amount of peat for acidity. Sometimes I use a bit of coconut husk as well if they are a variety of lithops that like a bit more water.
Thank you so much Ashley. So is it accurate to say watering a plant w/warm water is more effective if it's dried out & in need? I must go purchase pumice now. I needed this info so much.
The Truth Of The Matter; Yes that is accurate! Warm/hot water molecules are moving faster, and this allows the water to penetrate materials (including soil) quicker than if it was cold. Of course we don't want to use hot water on our plants, but warm, especially if the soil is crusty or repelling water is extremely helpful. The molecules moving faster is the reason we often use hot water to clean with also, as it penetrates and removed dirt and gunk more quickly than cold or warmer. (Random geeky side note there 😝) But also, considering rains for most succulent are rarely cold, room temp to slightly warmer water seems to stress my plants less than cold water as well, but I don't have any "proof" of them being happier, it's just my observation on their happiness... 😉. But as far as soil penetration, yes! Warm/room temp water absorbs faster and more evenly than cold with many substrates! 😁
Hi Ashley, thanks for a great video! I use pumice a lot but haven't tried adding some vermiculite. From what I've read online, vermiculite is partly used to hold moisture, which seems contradictory to the idea of creating a faster draining, grittier mixture. Can you explain your use of vermiculite?
Do you have any experience with Asclepiads? (Stapelia, Huernia, Orbea). If so I was wondering what specific soil mix do you use for them? They can be rot prone and was thinking if pumice (or a pumice heavy mix) would be ideal for them much like the lithops? I currently use a mix of commercial cactus soil, perlite, and coarse sand. I have trouble finding pumice locally and would prefer it over perlite, but if I have to order it....then so be it. Great video.
How do you feel about small red lava rock (what I assume is scoria) in place of pumice? I cannot find pumice that isn't astronomical in price and since pumice is a type of lava rock I think it would work?
Here is a link to a video I did specifically comparing the two. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-K-v22K2dxb8.html While scoria can be used as a soil additive, the properties are quite different. Pearlite is a closer substitute and that can be easier to find many places. Hope the video helps, holler if you have more questions about this. Happy growing! 💗
Ty for the link to your other video!!! I'm fairly new here and I love the way you explain things!!! I'm glad I didn't order the scoria but I'm still having a bear of a time finding pumice! I thought I found a good site today, but the shipping was more than the pumice *facepalm*! Another issue is everything is in terms of liters, pints or pounds so I don't really know what is a fair amount for the price on pumice. Size is also a big concern (3/8-1/8 inch) or ( 1/16-1/32 inch) as per the site here hessponics.com/buy-ponics-stone.html . I'm like you and have such an issue with the pearlite floating and collecting on the sides of the pot. When the pearlite sticks to the sides I end up adding more water to "wash" it back into the pot which is just flirting with over-watering issues!!! Plus (and most importantly) I want quicker draining material so I can give my new lithop obsession a good chance at working lol.
