A good cactus mixes soil the plant is one that drains easily. This is why you don’t need to use garden soil alone on your cactus or succulents. Your pots must have a working drain hole and there’s no water sitting in the bottom. Cactus mixing soil can enhance drainage, and increase evaporation and provides the dry conditions that cactus like. What is cactus Mix? The mix is available in garden and nurseries. You always have an option of purchasing the mix or making one on your own. The right kind of combination has a superior drainage qualities and quick dry out time when watering.
How to prepare your own mix soil for cactus?
Here a good cactus soil mix contains one part of organic matter, such as potting soil or coconut coir or coco peat compost fiber, to two parts mineral materials, such sand, perlite or a fine rinsed gravel. This mix ratio works well whether you’re planting cactus or succulents in pots or any designated areas in your outdoor.
To prepare this good formula for a cactus mix soil is one-third of horticultural sand, one-third cactus compost, and one-third grit in the form of pumice, perlite, or porous gravel. Mix all these ingredients thoroughly before potting your cactus. Again, make sure to include nutrients such as peat moss, coconut coir, pumice, perlite, or vermiculite to allow for a good combination of soil aeration and drainage properties. Try to use a base of standard potting soil and avoid forest product such as wood chips and pine bark pieces.
To grow healthy cactus successfully as home plants or outdoors plants, there are 3 major environmental factors to remember and most important – light, water, and soil. Most beginner to growing cactus and succulents always asked these:
- What is the best soil for my cactus?
- How much light should my cactus need?
- How often should I water my cactus?
Your cactus and succulents should never be over watered, the pots you used and soil mixture need to provide a good drainage system to help over watering problems.
The best soil for cactus shouldn’t be moist all the time or else root rot will occur and damage your plants. The good cactus soil mix is one that drains easily. This is why do not use garden soil alone on your cactus and succulents. Mix some organic material to keep the soil from easy drying. The roots like an airway, well-draining soil mixture that will dry completely and gets wet easily.
Prepare for re potting as soon as you find out the cactus root system begins to exit to the drainage holes at the bottom. Normally most of the garden centers or Nurseries carry cactus soil mixes specially made for cactus root and the stem. Also, take note, that most species of cactus plants and succulents need re potting at least once every 2 to 3 yrs.
Most good soil mixture will characteristically drain water very well yet have a water holding capacity but not completely dry out. The passing water will be absorbed quickly by the cactus and succulents and stored within its body, while the excess water will be drained out the hole at the bottom.
How often to give water and fertilizer?
To grow cactus and succulents plants should be watered at least once a week. But some people water more often than this. During each watering, give the soil a good soaking, so that water runs out the drainage holes easily. Plus fertilizing cactus plants is once a year is good enough, but if you want to put more attention into it you’re organized and set up schedule and feeding them 2 to 3 times a year. They said, overfeeding is dangerous for your cactus plants same as over watering. So be careful not to overfeed is just as important as knowing when to feed them and how to fertilize your cactus plant. It gives your plants the best chances of staying healthy and happily.
How much light does my cactus need?
Cactus and succulents need to have between 10 to 14 hours of light a day. Don’t expose your cactus plant to more than 14 hours of light in a day. The average is 12 hours of light a day is enough to keep your favorite plants to enjoy.
These are all the examples of good cactus potting soil that you can try out on your own. Note that the perfect mix depends on the cactus type that you wish to grow and where you live, and you’ll need to always prepare the other two mayor growth environments, which are water and lights.
Being a cactus and succulent lover, and we added that to our home, it helps to keep air fresh and remove toxins from the surrounding. Plants absorb our respiratory waste like carbon dioxide, and they convert it into plant carbohydrates to build strong bodies that turn pure, clean, oxygen that good for us to breath.
It’s always enjoying in making your cactus soil mix and experimenting on what best for your favorites plants like your cactus and succulent. Thank you for reading this articles. If you have good experience about cactus, succulents your free to write down there.
Happy planting and good luck!