Best Overall
Bonsai Jack’s Gritty Mix
AMAZON
- This potting mix is very fast-draining and mimics the naturally dry environment that succulents love. It’s also a great choice for beginners who often tend to overwater their plants.
This potting mix is very fast-draining and mimics the naturally dry environment that succulents love. It’s also a great choice for beginners who often tend to overwater their plants.
- Because the mix is so fast-draining, you’ll need to water more often than you might with other potting soils. This is great for many gardeners but might not be good for folks who forget to water or want to water only once a month.
Because the mix is so fast-draining, you’ll need to water more often than you might with other potting soils. This is great for many gardeners but might not be good for folks who forget to water or want to water only once a month.
The best soil for succulents helps improve drainage, like the Bonsai Jacki’s Gritty Mix. This potting mix is designed for succulents, cacti, and bonsai and is fast-draining. Plus, because it drains so quickly, this mix can help prevent root rot often caused by overwatering. This makes it a great choice for beginning succulent gardeners who may be tempted to water their succulents too often.
The ready-to-use mix has an optimized pH of 5.5, which makes it ideal for succulents, cacti, bonsai, and other plants that do well in acidic soil. It’s also a great choice for echeveria, crassula, lithops, jade, aloe, haworthia, crassula, and more.
The lightweight soil is made with Pine Coir, Bonsai Block (calcined clay), and Monto Clay. It’s also free of peat moss, which has come under scrutiny from environmentalists in recent years.
The mix of tan, dark brown, and other earth tones in the potting mix ensures it looks great in your planters, so you won’t need any top dressing. Plus, the dye-free soil is made with pine bark that’s treated to prevent the spread of pathogens and invasive species.
Part of what makes this pick one of the best options is it is easy to use. If you’re repotting a plant, you can remove as much of the old potting soil as you can (without hurting the roots) and pour this mix into your planter. Afterward, all you have to do is water it well and then wait to water it again until the mix is completely dry.
Product Details: Size: 2 quarts | Use: Succulents, cacti, and bonsai | Organic: No
Best Budget
Espoma Organic Cactus Mix
AMAZON
- This organic potting mix packs in a lot of natural ingredients to help your succulents thrive.
This organic potting mix packs in a lot of natural ingredients to help your succulents thrive.
- It does include peat moss, which might concern some gardeners.
It does include peat moss, which might concern some gardeners.
The Espoma Organic Cactus Mix is ideal if you’re looking for a less expensive option. Made of all-natural ingredients, the organic mix can be used on both indoor and outdoor plants, including succulents, palm, and citrus.
The formula does contain peat moss, a controversial ingredient due to environmental concerns. In addition to sphagnum peat moss, however, the lightweight potting mix contains humus and perlite, which help provide the necessary aeration and drainage for cacti and succulents.
The mix also includes mycorrhizae, a soil microbe that helps improve the health of the plant’s roots, and limestone to adjust the pH for optimum growth. Although water will drain through freely, the mix will retain enough water to support plant health.
You can use this mix when you’re starting a new plant or transplanting it into a larger container. Just keep in mind that it’s a good idea to repot your succulents annually into a larger container to help them continue to grow and thrive.
Product Details: Size: 4 quarts | Use: Succulents, palm, and citrus | Organic: Yes
Best Organic
Wonder Soil Premium Cactus and Succulent Mix
AMAZON
- This mix contains coconut coir, a natural and renewable resource, along with other organic amendments.
This mix contains coconut coir, a natural and renewable resource, along with other organic amendments.
- It’s more expensive than other options.
It’s more expensive than other options.
Although the Wonder Soil Premium Cactus and Succulent Mix is more expensive than other options, just a little bit of this mix will go a long way. That’s because it includes dry compressed coconut coir, which expands when it’s watered. In other words, you’ll only need 1/3 cup of this mix for a 4-inch pot and 5 cups for a gallon container, for example.
In addition to coco coir, which is a natural and renewable resource sometimes used to replace peat moss, this potting mix contains a number of other beneficial ingredients.
It includes worm castings, which provide beneficial microbes and slowly release nitrogen, and mycorrhizae, a beneficial fungus that helps promote a stronger root system. There’s also kelp, which increases the plant’s resistance to disease, and pumice, which helps promote better drainage and aeration.
To use this mix in containers, refer to the manufacturer’s instructions about how much to use, water the mix to make it expand, stir to aerate after the potting mix is fully expanded, and watch your plants grow.
Product Details: Size: 3 pounds | Use: Cacti and succulents | Organic: Yes
Best for Outdoor Succulents
Coast of Maine Mount Desert Island Blend Organic Cactus and Succulent Mix
AMAZON
- This succulent soil balances proper drainage and water retention, which makes it work well for cactus and succulents as well as tropical palms and citrus plants.
This succulent soil balances proper drainage and water retention, which makes it work well for cactus and succulents as well as tropical palms and citrus plants.
- This mix contains lobster and crab shells, which could cause a reaction in some people with a severe shellfish allergy. The mix also contains peat moss, which some gardeners prefer to avoid.
This mix contains lobster and crab shells, which could cause a reaction in some people with a severe shellfish allergy. The mix also contains peat moss, which some gardeners prefer to avoid.
The Coast of Maine Mount Desert Island Blend Organic Cactus and Succulent Mix is all-natural cactus and succulent mix is ready to use out of the bag and includes a variety of organic matter (including compost, sand, aged bark, fish bone meal, and kelp meal) that balances proper drainage with just enough water retention to allow succulents to thrive.
The mix helps encourage succulents to flower and includes bone meal and kelp meal for strong root and plant growth. This mix does include sphagnum peat moss, which some gardeners prefer to avoid, but the company is committed to sustainable gardening practices. The mix also contains lobster and crab shells, so it might not be the best mix for people with a shellfish allergy as it’s possible that it could cause a reaction when handled.
The Mountain Desert Island Blend can be used for both indoor and outdoor cacti and succulents, as well as tropical palms and citrus plants. It’s sold in 8-quart bags, which is larger than the 2-quart and 4-quart bags that some other manufacturers offer.
However, this may be more soil than you need for a small container or two, it will provide generous amounts of soil for large outdoor containers. It’s also sold in packs of two, four, six, or more—so you can buy plenty of soil for large installations or multiple outdoor containers.
Since this mix can be used to tropical palms and citrus plants as well as cacti and succulents, it’s a good choice if you’re looking for a versatile potting mix that can be used for a variety of plants.
Product Details: Size: 8 dry quarts | Use: Indoor and outdoor cacti and succulents | Organic: Yes
Best for Propagation
RePotMe Imperial Cactus and Succulent Classic Potting Mix
AMAZON
- This potting mix is made in small batches with simple ingredients so you know what you’re getting.
This potting mix is made in small batches with simple ingredients so you know what you’re getting.
- It’s a bit more expensive than some other mixes.
It’s a bit more expensive than some other mixes.
The RePotMe Imperial Cactus and Succulent Classic Potting Mix is made in small batches with fresh, high-quality ingredients, making it one of the best options to consider. Each batch is inspected to make sure it doesn’t include any bugs or larvae. Plus, it also doesn’t include any peat moss.
The mix is made with small Monterey pine bark, medium pumice rock, and small red lava rock. It’s a simple recipe yet effective at draining away extra moisture. The potting mix works for most succulents and cacti, including jade, echeveria, Christmas cactus, and more.
The contrasting colors in the mix offer an upscale look for your potted plants as well, so there’s no need for an extra top dressing for decoration. This mix is sold in a resealable bag for easy storage, which is ideal especially if you don’t plan to use it all at once. You’ll just want to make sure it’s completely dry before storing it away for an extended period of time.
Product Details: Size: 2 quarts | Use: Cacti and succulents | Organic: No