After years of trial and error, I finally came up with the perfect succulent potting mix recipe. This is the best soil for succulents, and it’s super easy to make too! In this post, I will share my recipe and show you exactly how to make your own succulent soil.
I don’t buy succulent soil, I make my own. It’s much cheaper than buying a commercial succulent potting mix.
Plus, I think the commercial soil mix for succulents (at least the stuff I’ve purchased in the past) are light on sand, and hold more water than I like.
Making your own succulent soil is not only cheaper than buying the commercial stuff, it’s super easy. In this guide, I’ll show you exactly how to do it, step by step.
Table of Contents
The Best Soil For Succulents
Choosing the right potting soil for planting succulents in containers is crucial! When readers reach out to me about problems with succulents, most of the issues they have are caused by overwatering.
Overwatering is the number one cause of death for succulent plants, and that is why it is super important to make sure you use the right type of soil to plant succulents.
The best potting soil for succulents is a well draining mix. Using a good potting mix of porous soil for succulents is super important to prevent overwatering.
Related Post: How & When To Water A Succulent Plant
Benefits Of Making Your Own DIY Succulent Soil Mix
The main benefits of making your own DIY succulent soil mix are that it’s cheaper, and you control the ingredients.
Making your own bulk mix is cheaper than buying a pre-made commercial succulent soil.
Plus, since you control the ingredients, you can modify this succulent soil recipe to get the perfect mix that both you and your plants will love.
How To Make Succulent Soil
Like I said, I find that many commercial succulent soil mixes aren’t coarse enough for my liking.
So, over the years I’ve played around with making my own succulent mix, until I figured out an easy, inexpensive recipe that I love the best.
I wanted to make sure the ingredients were all easy to find in your local garden center, or online. Plus, I use these ingredients to make my other homemade potting soils too, so they are all very reusable.
DIY Succulent Potting Soil Ingredients
To make your own succulent soil, you only need three ingredients, and you can find them at any garden center or home improvement store that has potting soil for sale:
- Potting soil
- Coarse sand (turface or poultry grit also work great)
- Perlite or Pumice
Related Post: How To Make Your Own Cactus Soil Mix (With Recipe!)
All Purpose Potting Soil
Any type of all regular potting soil will work as the base to make your own succulent soil. Use whatever you have on hand (as long as it’s fresh and sterile).
The specific brand I use varies depending on what’s on sale at the time I need to buy potting soil. When making potting mix for succulents, it’s best to use a light, porous one as your base.
Don’t use heavy garden soils, mixes that contain vermiculite, or any type that says it has added moisture control or retains water. Succulents need a well draining potting soil, not one that holds moisture.
Related Post: Succulent Plant Care & Ultimate Growing Guide
Coarse Sand
Succulents grow best in a porous sandy potting soil, so amending your potting soil with sand is super important.
You could use any type of sand, but to ensure fast drainage for succulents, I recommend buying a coarse sand rather than the really fine stuff.
Just don’t use sand from the garden, the beach, or a sandbox (you never know what nasties will be in there).
If you prefer, you could use turface or poultry grit as a substitute instead. Either of those would make excellent alternatives to sand in this recipe.
Perlite or Pumice
Perlite is a very lightweight organic soil amendment. It’s the white pieces that look like Styrofoam that you see in many commercial potting mixes.
Perlite retains very little moisture, prevents soil compaction, and helps add better drainage for succulents. In other words, it helps the soil drain faster which is exactly what we want for succulent potting soil.
You can usually buy perlite or pumice at any garden center or home improvement store. But sometimes it’s hard to find, so I usually buy it online.
Related Post: Propagating Succulents From Stem Cuttings Or Leaves
Supplies Needed:
Along with your succulent potting mix ingredients, you’ll need a few other supplies to help you measure and mix your ingredients. So grab these items before getting started…
- Measuring container
- Trowel
- Container for mixing (I use a bucket or my table top potting tray to mix mine)
DIY Succulent Soil Recipe
The succulent potting soil recipe I use is:
- 3 parts potting soil
- 2 parts coarse sand (turface or poultry grit)
- 1 part perlite (or pumice)
What is a “part”? – A “part” is just a generic unit of measure to use for your potting mix ratio. You can use anything you want to measure your ingredients, as long as you use the same type of measure for each “part”.
If you use a scoop measure for 1 part, then use the same scoop twice for 2 parts, and three times for 3 parts.
So, for example if you use a 1 cup measure, then this recipe would convert to 3 cups potting soil, 2 cups sand, and 1 cup perlite.
Related Post: How To Care For A Jade Plant (Crassula)
How To Mix Potting Soil For Succulent Plants
Mixing your DIY potting soil for succulents is super easy. All you need to do is dump everything into your mixing container (bucket, potting tray, wheelbarrow… whatever) and stir it all together.
Use a trowel, or your hands to mix it. Just make sure the ingredients are evenly mixed once you’re done.
That’s it. Told you it was easy to make your own potting soil for succulents.
Related Post: How To Grow & Care For Aloe Vera Plants
Storing Your Leftover Succulent Soil Mix
One of the things I love the most about making my own DIY succulent potting soil is that I can mix up a big batch, and store the leftovers for later. Succulent soil can be stored on a shelf in your basement, garage or garden shed.
You could make a bunch ahead of time and store it for later use, or just mix it as you need it for repotting.
I like to mix up a big batch, and then I store it in a plastic bucket in the garage so I always have succulent soil on hand when I need it.
Make sure to store your succulent potting soil in an air-tight container. You don’t want pesky bugs getting in there.
If you don’t have an air-tight container you can use, I recommend you buy one of these bucket sealing lids, which work with a five gallon bucket.
Related Post: How To Make An Indoor Succulent Garden
FAQs
In this section, I’ll answer some of the most frequently asked questions about succulent soil. If you can’t find your answer here, ask it in the comments below.
Can you use regular potting soil for succulents?
You certainly could use regular potting soil for succulents. It might work just fine, especially if you tend to forget to water for long periods of time, or your plants are very small. However, make sure the soil dries out completely between waterings, or they will rot.
What happens if you plant succulents in regular potting soil?
If you plant succulents in regular potting soil it increases the risk of overwatering. When the soil retains too much moisture, it can quickly cause your succulents to rot.
What is the difference between potting soil and succulent soil?
The differences between general potting soil and succulent soil are the ingredients and the consistency. Regular potting soils are made of organic materials that retain moisture, while succulent soil is porous, and designed to drain very quickly.
My succulents do very well in my homemade potting mix, and making my own saves me tons of money. Now that you know the best soil to use, and have my recipe to make your own, your succulents will thrive too.
More Posts About Potting Soils
- How To Make Your Own Gritty Mix Potting Soil
- How To Choose The Best Jade Plant Soil
- How To Make Potting Soil For Indoor Plants
- How To Choose The Best Snake Plant Soil
- 7 Easy DIY Potting Soil Recipes To Mix Your Own
Do you make your own succulent soil? Share your succulent potting soil mix recipe in the comments section below.
Laurel says
My husband bought me MiracleGro potting soil. I didn’t know it took sand too, but I thought, wait, will diatomaceous earth work? It said it was excellent for succulents so I mixed that 25% with the soil. I hope that is ok. At least there won’t be any bugs! If the plants look bad I will have to repot in something else. When I saw you said sea shells, I thought okay!! Wish me luck. I am new to this.
Amy Andrychowicz says
I think diatomaceous earth is too fine of a powder though, and may cause compaction. When I mentioned seashells, I was referring to poultry grit, which is much coarser and chunkier, so that’s why that product would work. But good luck on your experiment, hope your succulents will love your mix.
Nell Chambers says
This site is just what I need. Thank you.
Nell from England
Amy Andrychowicz says
You’re welcome, thanks for your nice comment. 🙂
Viji says
Can I use succulent mix, coarse river sand and gravel (instead of perlite)?
Amy Andrychowicz says
You could certainly give it a try. I’ve never used that combination for my succulent soil recipe, but it’s always fun to experiment to see what works best for you.
Henry Acres says
Just a heads up…you can find pumice at your local feed store, but make sure it says Dry Stall, and not Stall Dry, which is basically cat litter. Thanks for your great read.
Amy Andrychowicz says
Thanks for the tip, and you’re welcome. 🙂
Brad says
G’day,
I’ve gained a load of succulents and Cacti over the years and now wishing to make some sales from the propagation that I’ve had great success with. Now it’s time to pot them up. So my question is can I add 1 or 2 parts of chicken pellets for a bit of organic fertiliser or should I just keep going with a suitable liquid fertiliser for succus and Cacti?
I’m from the land down under Sydney.
Amy Andrychowicz says
You can use granules or a liquid, that part doesn’t matter. Succulents aren’t usually heavy feeders, so you really only need to feed them a few times during the summer. But it’s a good idea to research the specific variety you have in order to know the exact feeding requirements. Don’t give them any in the winter, or it could cause leggy growth. Here’s more details… Succulent Plant Care & Ultimate Growing Guide.
Sara says
Will pea gravel also work in place of coarse sand? When I do a search for coarse sand it pulls up results for pea gravel or the coarse sand used in cement mixing
Amy Andrychowicz says
It would probably work, but pea gravel is much larger than the coarse sand I recommend (linked to in the ingredients list above). So it will add more weight to the container. I have not tried it myself, but you could certainly experiment.
Warda Yasin says
Hello
I’m a new plant parent and have bought succulents for the first time. There is a little baby succulent in the pot, but I have noticed that it has not grown at all in months now. What shall I do?
Amy Andrychowicz says
Check out my ultimate care guide for how to grow succulents for detailed instructions.
Ellie says
Can I mix potting soil, crushed volcanic rocks & perlite for succulents soil?
Amy Andrychowicz says
As long as the crushed rock is small like the coarse sand I mentioned, then it should work. I have never tried that as a substitue in this recipe though, so I can’t say for sure.
Melanie says
Would this mix work to start succulents from seeds?
Amy Andrychowicz says
Yes!
Joanna T Simon says
Can I use vermiculite with commercial potting soil for my echeverias?
Amy Andrychowicz says
No, vermiculite is water retentive, and you don’t want that for succulents.
Bonnie says
Most poultry grit I see have probiotics and vitamins in it. Is this okay to use for the potting soil?
Amy Andrychowicz says
As long as the poultry grit is coarse and not fine, and the main ingredients are crushed seashells and/or crushed granite without a ton of extra stuff added in, then it will work.
Bonnie says
many thanks
Jennifer says
Hello,
Can i mix succulents soil, river sand and perilite?
Do i need to add river rocks?
Thanks
Amy Andrychowicz says
As long as the river sand that you have is coarse and not fine, then it should work. You do not need to add any extra rocks to the mix.