Wtf is wrong these places that put plants in stuff like that. If you hadn’t already I would switch the soil to a cactus soil mix with a mix of jacks soil. jack soil, best soil on the planet
This is what I use with all my succulents and cactus and it’s amazing
The mix for my indoor succulents is a 1:1 mix of Bonsai Jack Gritty mix and plain miracle gro. With how mild your climate is, I would probably start out with similar. I think you also should have no issue transitioning that etiolated pot to outdoor living as long as you take it slow and try to read up on it beforehand.
Does it look like this? If so then yes it’s good.
Bonsai Jack Succulent and Cactus Soil - Jacks Gritty Mix #111 - 2 Quarts – Fast Draining – Fight Root Rot – Optimized pH https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0194E9RW4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_i_2H6WJ281DDQ1CW3A3PH7
Plant them in Bonsai Jack, gritty mix consists just rocks, like desserts. The water drains fast.
Bonsai Jack Succulent and Cactus Soil - Jacks Gritty Mix #111 - 2 Quarts – Fast Draining – Fight Root Rot – Optimized pH https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0194E9RW4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_GTMBQ6CEDRCE8AMBXM72?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
Thanks for hosting these threads every week u/small_trunks.
Is this mix too gritty or fast draining for jade bonsai? I know for sure they’ll grow in it, but is there a drawback?
Bonsai Jack Succulent and Cactus Soil - Jacks Gritty Mix #111 - 2 Quarts – Fast Draining – Fight Root Rot – Optimized pH https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0194E9RW4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_W6WJ1E9D8YN4KGM9E63T
Yes miracle gro sucks. Their mixes retain way too much moisture for houseplants, and they tend to compact and become hydrophobic (where water runs down the edges of the pot instead of soaking into the soil). It's much easier to grow healthy plants in a higher quality soil.
Succulent soil is porous and fast draining with little to no organic ingredients. Think about the type of soil a rainforest tropical plant grows in vs a desert succulent - the tropical will have constantly moist, rich soil full of decaying organic matter, while most succs are adapted to airy, acidic, inorganic soil, mostly drought conditions, and after the occasional downpour their soil dries out very quickly. You want to mimic the conditions of their natural habitat as best as you can.
bonsai jack is often touted as the best succulent mix; I use it for all my succs. It's on the pricier side so if something like MG is the only kind within your budget then I'd suggest mixing it with 30-50% pumice so it drains better.
You'll put the coffee filter at the bottom of whichever pot the plant is potted in. It'll keep the soil from falling out the drain holes. Eventually it will break down but by the time that happens the soil and roots have formed a more solid mass that doesn't fall out the holes.
Yep. It's the cactus and succulent mix. The pine bark smells great too which is sorta weird.
Also on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0194E9RW4/
I'm convinced now to move most of my plants into primarily inorganic potting soil. I've had less problems with that. But then again try whatever works for you!
I just bought them last week. I initially planted them in regular potting soil since I was unaware of what soil to plant them in I watered them and I'm sure the soil was left wet for a couple of days since there's no drainage in my pots. Then I purchased bonsai Jack's cactus mix on amazon and replanted them in the same pots and added a little water. I wasn't sure just how much "little water" was til I saw videos. How can you tell the difference between root rot and dried roots?
😂 animals are such jerks, like it wants ALL the attention, all else must go. Maybe you need a metal cage to go over the pot too haha 😂😂
I bought pumice off of Amazon from patches of green, and there was so much fines in it that it actually wasn’t cost effective. :/ I’m dealing with fungus gnats and I’m just yeeting all organic out of the door. Pumice can be added to a basic succulent/cactus soil to help fix it, if other options aren’t available.
This is bonsai jack’s succulent/cactus mix. https://www.amazon.com/Bonsai-Jack-Succulent-Cactus-Soil/dp/B0194E9RW4/ref=psdc_3752881_t1_B00RANTCKY
It’ll be a bit of a new learning curve to see how much water your short boi wants. I think it’s easy to get frozen trying to find something, but there isn’t a magic recipe. It’s adaption to ones own growing environment for making sure your growing medium drains and dries, while remembering the light needs of plants.
That’s how I can grow mesembs in the pnw, adapt what I have and do my best to meet its needs.
I can keep helping you look too, but don’t want your head to spin lol. Bonsai jack has a 100% inorganic mix of lava, pumice, turface, and calcined clay. There are some Etsy shops with gritty mix to sell, but it seemed the price was more expensive. Sourcing the gritty mix was hard in my city, and I have my own car, so for now I‘ve had to use amazon.
Reading about gritty mix was bam, stress, what do I do 🥺. The most helpful advice was many ways work, as long as they result in required drainage. So I read about drainage, succulent and cacti roots, and maintaining their health. We all live in wildly different environments anyway. Some people in hot places actually use the miracle grow cactus soil successfully as is.
Ok, I'm a little hesitant to answer this, just because I have never had a Lithops, but I know Bonzai Jack is one mix that gets reccomended a lot here!
The soil is half Miracle Gro cactus soil, half this: https://www.amazon.com/Quarts-Bonsai-Succulent-Cactus-Gritty/dp/B0194E9RW4/ref=lp_8126182011_1_2?srs=8126182011&ie=UTF8&qid=1520384700&sr=8-2
It's a cutting, it doesn't have any roots. I'm afraid it will die before ever rooting.
Nicely done! Succulents and NYC don't often mix well, as we're a shady/cool/humid environment. I've killed waaaay too many in my day, but think I've finally found a good routine to keep some alive in Brooklyn.
In answer to your question, you can buy pretty small packages of soil (like 5lbs), and for a succulent, I'd highly recommend buying a small bag of gritty mix off the internet.
That said, where in the city are you? I'm a fan of the garden center in Williamsburg, but there might be one closer to you.
I didn't think I'd want extra soil taking up space in my apartment, either, but it's one of those things that I store in the way back corners of my closets and has been surprisingly useful to have on hand for repotting gifts and giving plants larger homes.
I'm using a specific mixture that's supposed to be very good for succulents. It isn't soil and is very well draining. I don't have pots with holes on the bottom so drainage and root rot was a real concern for me initally. I repotted with this mixture.
I basically water the plant until i can see the water starting to pool at the rim of the pot and then dump out half of the excess. The roots still get water but doesn't sit there too long. I check again the next day to see if there is still a lot of water in the pot, at which point I'll drain more of the water if needed.
I have an echeveria that I overwatered, so I repotted it in this soil (https://www.amazon.com/Bonsai-Jack-Succulent-Cactus-Soil/dp/B0194E9RW4/?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_w=O9nZn&content-id=amzn1.sym.8cf3b8ef-6a74-45dc-9f0d-6409eb523603&pf_rd_p=8cf3b8ef-6a74-45dc-9f0d-6409eb523603&pf_rd_r=GV95QHVMSPWGK9EJDY2Y&pd_rd_wg=Y4BBQ&pd_rd_r=4a5456d1-e414-4fd8-8149-db0379930189&ref_=pd_gw_ci_mcx_mi), because I did not want to fear overwatering it again, but now I am trying to water it and not sure how to get it to actually absorb water. The bottom couple leaves have gotten wrinkly and less firm, so I am fairly confident it needs water. I tried bottom watering it, and letting it soak for 10 minutes, but that was two days ago and the bottom leaves still look thirsty. I obviously don't want to overwater, and I know underwatering takes a while to start actually hurting a succulent, but I'm just trying to figure out how to do all this.
Is this too rocky?
What's OOA? I am mostly using this soil https://www.amazon.com/Bonsai-Jack-Succulent-Cactus-Soil/dp/B0194E9RW4?th=1.
You have to strike a delicate balance between keeping these guys properly watered, but not over-watering.
A very fast draining soil such as this https://www.amazon.com/Bonsai-Jack-Succulent-Cactus-Soil/dp/B0194E9RW4, is preferable for all peperomia. I add some perlite to the linked mix as well. Regular potting soul or commercial cactus soil retains too much water for peperomia.
The white pot "looks like" a self-watering pot. Through that thing in the trash. (Not the plant - the pot!) The other little pot, I'm betting, has no drainage.
Find two small terracotta pots (not plastic or ceramic), get some fast draining, good quality cactus and succulent soil and re-pot them.
Stay away from any of the popular brands except for Sun Gro Black Gold - it is the best of the "popular brands."
Sure thing! I may have gotten duped but this is what I bought: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0194E9RW4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_fabc_CPEYXWXZBG3M9NPK6883?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
Ok im just going to assume this is all above board lol....
You should look into buying some gritty mix/succulent soil. Regular soil holds too much water. Especially for a more interesting plant like this its wort it.
Here: https://www.amazon.com/Bonsai-Jack-Succulent-Cactus-Soil/dp/B0194E9RW4
Ive never used that myself but it should work ok.
First you should wait for like a week for these guys to callous over. Then you just nestle the base in the gravely mix. You water very infrequently in winter, and more often in summer (Still waiting for it to dry). If I lived somwhere with warm summers where most weeks get a few days without rain, I would grow them outside. They like bright light but probably wont endure all day direct outdoor sun. Morning sun, or dappled/broken up sun outdoors. Indoors full sun as bright as spot as you can give it. Fertilize infrequently with low niutrogen fertilizer like NPK of 1-7-6.
I bought this pot, and it states it's for mini succulents. Is it not at all possible to plant without a drainage hole?
I'm also looking at this soil mix on Amazon. I want to have rocks on top of the planter for decorative purposes anyways, so I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone and grab this bag since it has rocks. Would I have to mix this with any other soil so that water is more absorbed instead of sitting at the bottom? What do you think?
what's bottom watering? I use this gritty mix #111 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0194E9RW4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I've been trying to do some research and am getting confused about what soil is recommended. I've seen your recommendation used on other sites, but some also swear by more soil-based pre-mixes (link for example). Not sure what to actually use for string of pearls! Could you speak to why some sites may be recommending the more soil-based pre-mixes compared to something like Bonsai Jack's mix?
Bonsai Jack Succulent and Cactus Soil - Jacks Gritty Mix #111 - 2 Quarts – Fast Draining – Fight Root Rot – Optimized pH https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0194E9RW4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_7AKeFbH5GKC63
Something like this?
Bonsai Jack ! also trying out repotme's gritty mix
takes awhile for things to root, and to get a hang of the bottom watering schedule, but so far so good!
Hello! I got a new plant friend for free yesterday but I'm already fearing for its health and I have a bunch of questions. (Picture 1, 2)
1) A new pot seems straightforward enough, but is this soil good enough without mixing anything in?
2) What's the white stuff? Do I need to rub it off or is okay?
3) A lot of the lower leaves seem droopy and/or damaged so is there anything I can do to help it?
4) The one window in my dorm appears to be north facing and my desk lamp has a 400 lumens bulb right now, which I don't believe is sufficient. Could I potentially get a higher lumen lightbulb and put my succulent under it for a couple hours a day? (My lamp is an Ikea Ranarp, if that helps at all.)
5) The dumbest question of all, what is it? As a complete newbie, I'd guess some sort of crassula, but I could be completely off the mark.
The leaves are engorged with water and it's causing the cells to rupture as they try to take in more. Kind of like a million water balloons bursting. How often are you watering? This time of year haworthia can go about 2 weeks to over a month between watering as they go into a dormant state for winter. I'd also check on your soil and pot situation. Succulents need really good drainage (pot needs to have a drainage hole) and gritty, fast-draining soil. This is what I grow them in: Bonsai Jack Succulent and Cactus Soil Gritty Mix #111 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0194E9RW4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_T8EVDbGN2SWZ1
At this point that plant is probably not going to recover but if you want to try to save it, get it out of that pot and into dry soil ASAP.
I actually disagree that this type of succulent needs direct bright light. Haworthia tend to do fine in indirect light and too much direct sunlight can stress them out.