One bag doesn't fit every pot
Walk into most garden centers and you'll find a single bag labeled "all-purpose potting mix" expected to work for everything from a thirsty pothos to a bone-dry cactus. It can't. Soil is really about two things: how long it holds water, and how much air reaches the roots. Those two needs pull in opposite directions depending on what you're growing.
What each mix is actually doing
A tropical foliage plant wants soil that holds moisture without staying soggy: something with real structure, a little weight, and enough organic matter to feed the plant between waterings. A cactus or succulent wants almost the opposite: fast drainage, plenty of grit, and very little that holds water at all. An orchid barely wants "soil" in the usual sense; it wants air around loose bark chunks, because its roots photosynthesize and rot quickly if buried in anything dense.
The plant isn't fussy. The soil just has to match how it actually grows in the wild.
The blends we mix
- Tropicals: a peat or coir base with perlite and a little bark for structure. Holds moisture, still drains.
- Cacti & succulents: mostly grit, pumice and coarse sand. It should feel gravelly in your hand, not fluffy.
- Orchids: bark and charcoal, almost no traditional soil. Roots need airflow more than they need dirt.
When to worry about it
If a plant's soil dries out in a day or two no matter how much you water, or stays wet for a week and starts smelling sour, the blend is usually the culprit before the plant is. Bring a sample in (or the whole pot) and we'll help you figure out what it actually needs.
