First of all, ALL container plants require good drainage. Are you adding products to an existing potting mix? I guess I don't understand how you intend to use the product.

Many people amend commercial potting mixes by adding bark fines or perlite or other materials with the intent of increasing the porosity of the mixture. You sort of have to search to find the peat moss (sphagnum) in any mix that I use, lol.

I have a few houseplants that "like moisture, not wet, and good drainage"....Hibiscus, gardenia, etc...how to mix...I added some sphagnum moss to the potting soil...will that work...also have lots of drainage holes and rocks in the bottom...some bags of peat look like potting soil?....how is this drainage and compare to peat moss?..so far I have been mixing in thirds of each...potting soil......peat..sphagnum....Thank you for the response and hope to her back...gert

Good potting mixes are nearly all sphagnum peat, plus a little of this and a little of that. Are you using a commercial brand of potting soil? Not out of your garden soil? You should not add any more peat to those potting mixes, but the perlite or bark instead. That would be like adding peat to peat.

FOR EXAMPLE: for most of my house plants, I use a combination of 50% good quality commercial peat based potting medium, and the other 50% is comprised of bark fines, perlite, and Turface.

This potting medium has superior porosity and very good water retention. It will not 'hold' on to water for long periods of time.

I don't mean to be slow to understand, but perhaps if you told me what you use for a potting soil, I would comprehend.

Oh no..by all means.....I should have explained better.....This is a better quality potting soil really hard to get wet...I think I am beginning to understand..so when people tell you to mix soil..use the good stuff and add the other for drainage...the bags of Peat that I buy that feel like mud when I open....what are they?...A potting soil?.... I think I got it.....Thank you so much......Happy blooms to you!

I make my own potting medium, using loam I get from some rich soil, worm castings out of my worm bed,sometimes I use "cricket crap"(that's the packaged name), perlite and usually peat moss and at times adding a slow release fertilizer usually during the spring repotting depending on the needs of the plant.Don't miss understand I'm not saying I use all of that in every batch of soil I make up,depends on what that plant likes.

My question is,I sent the hubby to get me some supplies,I live a good ways from any nurseries or gardening supply.Walmart is the closest & they put gardening supplies up this time of the year.He came home with a bag of potting soil,spagnum Peat and perlite (he did good on the last one).LOL

I have never used spagnum, what is it's main purpose,what does it contribute to soil.I need to mix up a medium for a hoya and a succulent mix.Does anyone know how the spagnum helps improve soil.

I appreciate any advice anyone could give me thank very much.
Jelinda

Hi. I can't answer bc I'm as confused as you but what I do know is that Walmart sells bagged soil for succulents and cacti already mixed. It's real cheap and does a great job as is. I use it for my potted sedum/cacti/hens chicks and I mix some in when I plant them in my rock garden. Maybe next time hubby goes he can pick up a bag of that too. It's 2$ for a good size bag. I hope you get a better answer though bc I have wondered the same ?? too.

Sphagnum peat, aka peat moss, is a common ingredient in many potting soils. Potting soils are really soil-less mixes of ingredients designed to accomodate the very specific needs of container grown plants. Peat moss tends to be very moisture retentive, generally of a very small particle size and quite acidic. For these reasons, it should be used sparingly in any potting/container mix. The primary concern of any potting mix is fast drainage and good aeration and too much peat in the mix compromises both of these issues. It is definitely NOT an ingredient I would include in a potting medium to be used for cacti or succulents.

For the record, peat is the decomposed remains of various plant products - sedges, mosses (like sphagnum), reeds or assorted other bog loving plants. Sphagnum is a moss that is often used as a decorative item to top off planted containers or to line hanging baskets, etc. Sphagnum peat - or peat moss, as it is most commonly referred to - is the decomposed product, found widely in peat bogs in the upper northern hemisphere. Canada has the world's largest supply of sphagnum peat bogs.