Picking the right potting mixes for indoor plants is the secret to growing a lush, healthy garden that’s easy to maintain!
If you have been a plant lover for a while now, you would know how stressful it can get when looking for the perfect soil mix for your indoor plants. The right soil mix is one of the most crucial factors to ensure the healthy growth of your plant babies in your humble abode, helping them thrive. Not every soil mix will give your plant the conditions and nutrients for the best growth. So, of course, you would need to research extensively to know which soil mix would work for your plant’s specific needs. But we have made this process easier for you with this list of the best potting mixes for indoor plants!
Why Do Indoor Plants Need Special Potting Mixes?
Potting soil mixes are different from the general dirt or garden soil that you would find in your yard. Many commercial soil mixes are actually “soil-less.” They are classified as such as they are generally made from wood products, which are then enhanced with ingredients to deliver nutrients to the roots and aerate the soil. These “soils” are usually lighter and fluffier than garden soil and are labeled “potting mixes.”
Most indoor plants are tropical, requiring well-draining potting soil with excellent moisture-retentive properties. You can identify this type of potting mix by its loose, crumbly texture. Any soil mix that holds too much moisture will inevitably cause root rot in your green babies and become a breeding ground for molds and fungi. Hence, it becomes non-negotiable to curate a potting mix that provides the necessary nutrients without holding unnecessary moisture.
Best Potting Mixes For Different Indoor Plant Types
Each plant will have different soil requirements. Though the same ingredients can be used in every kind of potting mix, they will differ in the proportions in which they are mixed. This is why potting mixes for certain indoor plants, like bonsai or citrus plants, will differ altogether, even in their components.
1) Soil Mix for Indoor Vegetables, Fruits and Flowering Plants
Vegetables, fruits, and flowering plants generally feed heavily when grown indoors. They need a constant supply of water, air circulation, and nutrition. So, their soil mix should be nutrient-rich, well-draining, loose, and organic.
- Cocopeat/Peat moss– This helps in better water retention, improves aeration for the roots, and decreases the risk of fungal diseases and root rot.
- Vermiculite/perlite/Sand– Either of these would act as a great draining component in the soil mix. Sand is a cheaper alternative and brings similar benefits while being easy on your pocket.
- Organic Compost– Since vegetables, fruits, and flowering plants need a lot of nutrition to grow indoors, this component helps maintain a steady supply.
In addition to these ingredients, you can add some Neem Cake powder as an optional ingredient, as it acts as a natural fungicide.
To reiterate, not every potting mix works for every plant type. For example, orchids are unique flowering plants in many aspects. The biggest one is that they are epiphytes, getting their nutrition from the air, which causes their roots to remain partially exposed. These beautiful flowering plants explicitly demand good air circulation and a growing media that quickly drains yet retains moisture.
Coco fiber, perlite/vermiculite/sand are not enough to meet all of these requirements! So, you need to supplement orchid potting mixes with charcoal, sphagnum moss, and slow-release orchid-specific fertilizers. Of course, the ratio of the ingredients would depend on the variety of orchids you are growing indoors!
2) Soil Mix for Succulents and Cacti (like Aloe Vera, Haworthia, etc)
Succulents and Cacti need a soil mix that allows drainage and helps avoid compaction. They need little to no fertilizing.
- Cocopeat/Peat Moss– Coco coir helps retain moisture while providing excellent drainage. It is also excellent for aerating the roots and helping maintain a neutral to slightly acidic pH level in the growing medium. However, peat moss can be easier on your pocket and is easier to get your hands on than coco peat.
- Perlite– This helps with better drainage and avoiding compaction.
- Sand– It helps maintain the loose, airy nature of the growing medium that succulents and cacti like. It also helps water drain quickly, as these types of plants are quite easily killed by overwatering, with their roots sitting in water. Not to mention, sand helps stabilize the plant pot by giving it weight and preventing tip-overs.
- Very Little to No Organic Compost or Fertiliser– Succulents require almost no feeding except during their growing season. Fertilizing during this time helps keep your succulents and cacti looking healthy and robust!
3) Soil Mix for Ornamental Indoor Plants
For ornamental indoor plants such as peace lilies, snake plants, spider plants, etc, you need to worry a lot more about drainage and issues like underwatering or overwatering.
Unlike other plant types, these indoor plants completely depend on their soil mix for their nutrients, and their health depends on factors like proper drainage, aeration, and moisture retention. They are prone to root rot as well and, hence, need well-draining soil. Don’t forget about pH balance, either!
- Cocopeat- It improves soil aeration and water retention, ensuring roots receive adequate moisture and oxygen. Cocopeat’s natural antifungal properties help prevent root diseases, promoting healthier plant growth.
- Vermiculite or Perlite– Both perlite and vermiculite are compressed minerals that expand when they absorb water. While vermiculite has a neutral pH and doesn’t decompose, which is why it is mostly used in seed-starting mixes, perlite is best for plants that need high humidity. You can use both of these together in a 25% composition in your soil mix.
- Organic Compost or Fertilizer– Whether you purchase your soil mix or make your own, organic compost is important for providing nutrition to your indoor plants and structure to the roots.
- Sphagnum or Peat Moss- These natural ingredients, too, provide structure, aeration, and water retention qualities to the soil mix. They also balance the soil pH level, keeping it slightly acidic, as required by indoor plants.
4) Bonsai Potting Mix
Being indoor plant lovers, we all have dreamt of homing this unique-looking plant at least once in our gardening journey. However, bonsai trees need specific soil mixes designed for their needs so that these shrubs can grow robustly with all the nutrition they need. Sometimes, you can use this soil mix for succulents and cacti.
- Akadama– This volcanic clay is one ingredient that can hold moisture really well while also providing your bonsai tree with the necessary nutrients.
- Pumice- Yet another volcanic rock that can be used in soil mixes, its ability to improve soil aeration prevents root rot and helps keep roots well-oxygenated.
- Pine Bark– Besides the fact that pine bark does not decompose easily in the soil mix, even though it is an organic material, it also helps improve the soil structure and simultaneously improve water retention.
- Grit/ Sand- This is an essential ingredient in a bonsai soil mix, as it protects root health by promoting good drainage and preventing soil compaction.
- Cocopeat– Last but not least, this natural fiber derived from coconut husks supports root development and also improves water retention. Not to mention it keeps the bonsai roots aerated as well.
