The Best Potting Soil for Succulents to Thrive Your Plants

If you want your succulent garden to thrive, it’s essential to provide your plants with good quality potting soil.

Moreover, these aren’t regular plants and they don’t require the same things as some others in your garden.

One thing you need to consider when choosing the soil mix for succulents is its absorbing properties.

As we know succulents don’t require too much water and that’s why the soil you use needs to be able to drain out well.

There are a lot of potting soils sold on Amazon which are specially made for succulent plants.

Nonetheless, you might get lost in all of the available choices thus, we’d recommend you go through our list and get a better understanding of what is the best potting soil for succulents.

Read on!

What is Soil Drainage?

You’ve probably noticed that we keep mentioning the importance of proper soil drainage when it comes to succulent plants.

Soil drainage refers to the process of how fast the water drains out of the soil.

Once you water a plant some of the water should come out of the bottom, but most have to be taken up by the plant or evaporate.

Succulent plants and cacti require different soil than other regular plants. As we mentioned before, they’re plants which come from arid or desert areas which don’t have a lot of rain and the soil quality is rather poor.

It goes without saying, that recreating the natural environment is essential for plant growth and the most important factor is the amount of water.

What’s the Best Soil for Succulents?

When it comes to succulent potting, it’s important to remember where succulents grow naturally.

They’re used and have adapted to environments where there’s not much rain and can live with very little water.

Once you have these facts straightened out, you’ll understand that the key to good succulent soil is the amount of water it can hold.

It has to be just perfect, since too much or too little may damage your plants.

What Ingredients is Succulent Soil Made of?

Most soil mix for succulents contains organic matter and peat moss as the most common ingredient.

However, because it dries out quickly and can’t absorb enough water peat moss can’t be used on its own.

This is why a good mixture has other ingredients added such as finely ground bark or fiber. That’ll help the water penetrate the roots faster.

The third important component of every good soil for succulents is an inorganic substance which allows the water to soak in the soil faster and drain out nicely.

These inorganic ingredients can be perlite, pumice, crushed granite, or clay.

How to Recognize if the Drainage Level is Good?

Now that we know drainage is essential, we need to figure out if the soil we want to buy provides optimal water draining.

It’s a gardener’s rule of thumb that the soil of your succulent has to be bone dry within 1 to 1.5 days after watering.

To test the dryness, you can stick your finger an inch into the soil. The soil has to feel dry and warm.

Why is Wet Soil Bad for Succulents?

We keep saying wet soil is bad for succulents, but didn’t say why.

The answer’s quite simple, wet soil can cause root rot. In general, this is a risk for all types of plants but succulents can suffer the most.

Because of their natural environment, they’re not used to being wet for a long period.

Moreover, plants breathe through their roots and they use up the carbon dioxide and oxygen from the soil.

That’s why soil aeration and worms, that can break up the soil, are essential for healthy root growth.

Knowing this, you’ll understand that if the soil is wet, the air can’t flow freely and the plant has to “hold its breath” until the soil is dry again so it can breathe.

However, if this takes too long the root will drown and begin to rot.

When to Repot My Succulents?

If your succulents are currently thriving in the soil they’re in, then we’d recommend not to repot them just yet.

To make it simple, if the soil works-don’t change it.

However, if you notice that your succulents are starting to die out but can’t figure out why maybe consider the condition of the soil.

Even though changing your soil mix can’t solve all issues, it’s good to know that your plants will feel better in well-draining soil.

Why Should I Repot My Store-Bought Succulent?

Further, as soon as you buy a new succulent and you want to make it part of your lovely collection, make sure you repot it in new soil as soon as possible.

Try to remove all the soil from the store pot because based on our experience most of the problems with succulents arise from not changing the first soil.

There are two main problems when it comes to store-bought succulents.

Firstly, they can be root-bound and their roots will fill out most of the pot so just removing it to a bigger pot won’t solve the problem.

Secondly, most nurseries sell succulents in the soil which is not ideal for long-term growth outside of a greenhouse.

This is because large growers usually use all-purpose soil for all of their plants since they need a mix that works well with anything.

Plus, baby succulents need more water and dense soil is good for them at this stage.

How to Know if Succulent is Getting the Needed Care?

To understand whether your plant is getting proper care and if the soil you’re using is good, you might want to consider a few tell-tell signs:

• Mushy leaves can be a result of too much water. This either means you’re watering your plant too often or the soil mix you’re using doesn’t provide good drainage.

• Rotting roots are a result of excessive water and appear due to improper drainage.

• The change of leaf color usually shows that the plant is not getting enough light.

• Mold on the leaves can either show due to too much humidity or over-watering. That’s why you should avoid watering with a spray bottle since it gets water on the leaves

• Thin leaves appear as a result of not enough sunlight and the plant is stretching to get more.

Potting Soil for Succulents Review

1. Hoffman Organic Succulent Soil

Highlighted Features

• Organic mixture
• Good for jungle & desert cacti
• Good drainage properties
• Professional formula

The Hoffman Cactus & Succulent mix is a professional formula which’ll satisfy the drainage needs of your cacti and succulents.

Moreover, the soil encourages maximum blossom and root development and the pH balance is ideal for both desert and jungle cacti.

This product comes in a 4-quart size and detailed instructions are provided on the packaging.

Hoffman’s soil mixture is an organic, high-quality product which’ll give the best results in no time.

You’ll be surprised at how fast your plants will start to flourish.

2. Natural Succulent Soil Mix by Perfect Plants

Highlighted Features

• Fresh & organic
• Professionally mixed
• Proper drainage
• Re-sealable bag

This amazing 4-quarts succulent soil is an organic and fresh product specially formulated to provide the ideal balance of moisture and air to your plants.

It’s a professional formula that provides all the necessary nutrients and proper soil conditions for optimal plant growth.

Moreover, the soil can drain out the ideal amount of water for your delicate succulents.

As we mentioned before, succulents require special care, and having a balanced watering system is essential for their overall health.

The mixture includes garden coir, perlite, sand, and composted pine bark and it works well with all types of succulent plants.

Once you’re done using it, you can easily store it away with the practical, re-sealable zip bag.

3. The Next Gardener Organic Succulent & Cactus Soil Mix

Highlighted Features

• Professional formula
• Organic mixture
• Lightweight
• pH balance 5.5

You can be certain this soil mix is of top quality because it’s imported from Denmark which is known as the flower kingdom.

This 100% organic mixture will provide your succulent plants with the ideal amount of water and you can grow your favorite plants without too much effort.

All succulent quality soils have to offer great drainage properties to keep the moisture at an optimal level, help the plants breathe better, and result in healthy growth.

Moreover, this soil’s vermin-free and will not cause additional threats and damage to your plants.

It works well with different types of plants such as crassula ovata, donkey’s tail, and other bonsai species.

4. Miracle-Gro Cactus Palm Potting Mix

Highlighted Features

• Fast draining 
• 8-quart package
• Expert formula
• For plants in containers

When it comes to soil quality, we can confidently say that Miracle-Gro is one of the best-known brands on the market.

Their formula for cacti, palm, citrus, and other succulents is definitely an excellent product that is enriched with plant food and can feed your plants for up to 6 months.

One of the best things is the sand and perlite ingredients which make the soil less compact –and this helps with fast draining.

Fast draining is essential to avoid over-watering and plant damage.

The package you receive is 8-quart, so you’ll be getting good quality plus value for money.

5. Fat Plants San Diego Premium Soil

Highlighted Features

• Rich in nutrients
• Premium quality
• pH balanced
• Optimal drainage

This potting soil by Fat Plants San Diego is specially made to enrich your plants, give them stronger root systems, and prevent them from rotting.

It was exclusively made to help with cacti and succulent plant growth both in indoor or outdoor conditions.

This handmade mix is sold in a re-usable bag in 3 convenient sizes and it’s perfect for seedlings, vegetables, bonsai, and other plants.

What’s more, it’s a slow-release formula which’ll feed your plants for the next 6 months so you can be certain they’re getting all the nutrients they need.

6. Espoma Organic Cactus Mix

Highlighted Features

• All-natural mix
• Good for cacti & succulents
• Retains moisture
• Enhanced with Myco-tone water

This all-natural cacti mix by Espoma is good for cacti, citrus, and succulent plants.

Because it’s enhanced with a Myco-tone water formula it can easily retain moisture and improve the airflow which is essential for healthy root growth.

Additionally, this blend also contains peat humus, perlite, sand, and sphagnum peat moss. This nutrient-packed mixture does wonders for the texture of your succulents.

Plus, it can reduce drought stress if the weather conditions get to dry for the succulent’s taste.

You’ll be happy to hear that the mixture comes in 4-quart bags and you can also purchase it in bulk.

The manufacturer sells the product in a re-sealable bag, so you can easily store it away when not in use.

7. Bliss Garden Organic Succulent & Cactus Soil

Highlighted Features

• Premium blend
• Handmade
• Great price
• Fast shipping

You’ll appreciate this soil mixture because it’ll instantly make your plants thrive.

It’s full of good biological ingredients that’ll give a strong kick to your desert plants. This is a premium, handmade blend that can provide ideal draining.

Some of its main ingredients are coconut coir, peat moss, perlite, worm castings, shale rock, mycorrhizae, and horticultural charcoal.

What’s more, the 4-quarts packaging comes at a great price and the seller offers fast shipping options.

Experienced gardeners who are picky about the products they use for their plants, confirm that this is one of the best products on Amazon both money and quality-wise.

8. Succulent & Cactus Soil Mix by Superfly Bonsai

Highlighted Features

• Pre-mixed & ready to use
• Promotes water retention
• Non-organic substrate
• Easy re-sealable bag

If you’re an amateur gardener and need a product with good quality that’s easy to use, then you’ve found the right purchase.

This Superfly Bonsai soil is premixed and ready to use soil mix.

It’s been sifted before bagging and it contains ¼ hard Japanese akadama, ¼ USA pumice, ¼ New Zealand pine bark and ¼ haydite.

Due to its ingredients, it promotes excellent water retention and drainage and it’s specifically prepared for succulents and cacti.

This isn’t an organic mix, but a substrate that in its form has been found to provide ideal drainage, water retention, nutrient uptake, and airflow.

What’s more, the practical zip bag allows you to use the product over and over and store it away in idle season.

Last but not least, if you’re not happy with the product the manufacturer offers a 100% money-back guarantee.

9. TerraGreen Creations Succulent Planter Soil Kit

Highlighted Features

• Organic soil
• DIY Kit
• Great for gifts
• Made for succulents

One of the best features of this TerraGreen Creations product is the DIY all-inclusive kit which has all you need to help you build a nice-looking terrarium.

It has easy to follow instructions and you just need to add your succulent plant.

The kit includes washed pea gravel, organic soil, activated charcoal bag, decorative exotic river rock, and decorative green sheet moss.

When buying this product have in mind that it’s an affordable option because if you were to purchase all included items individually you’d have to pay more.

Additionally, it can be a great birthday present for your friends who love succulents or want to learn how to make a terrarium.

10. XGarden Cactus & Succulent Soil Mix

Highlighted Features

• All-natural
• Fit for all succulents
• Excellent drainage
• Controlled pH

When potting succulents and cacti, it’s important to use the proper type of soil which is specifically made for these types of plants.

This formula is a great mix which’ll make your plants flourish.

It contains peat moss, perlite, and vermiculite which have been blended especially for maximum drainage.

Further, this combination encourages healthy root growth and the balanced pH only adds to its value.

XGarden is a trusted brand among experienced gardeners, so you can rest assured you’ll be getting a top-notch quality product.

Final Thoughts

By now, you must’ve realized that taking care of succulents is a delicate and thoughtful task.

You can’t expect that you’ll buy a pretty flower and it’ll grow on its own.

As we expressed earlier, one of the essential needs of succulent plants is a proper drainage system which’ll mimic their natural environment and thus, encourage healthy growth.

This is where a good soil mix comes into place. Our article features the 10 best potting soil for succulents on Amazon.

Nevertheless, if you’re struggling with the choice we’re here to help and we’d recommend without a doubt the TerraGreen DIY all-inclusive kit as our top pick.

This product consists of all the ingredients you need to create your terrarium and you can turn it into a great project with your kids or use it as a gift for your plant-loving friends.

You’ll get good quality and price.

Further, if you’re looking for a more affordable option, then we’d go with the professional formula by Next Gardener.

It’s a product imported from Denmark which guarantees its quality.

Moreover, it’s lightweight and offers good pH which is suitable for different types of succulents.

Happy Gardening!