House Plant Soil Mix?

Hi guys a few of my house plants aren't looking as good as they should be and I think its down to the general purpose soil I used.

is there a better mix I could buy made up or mix up that would be more suitable for house plants?

 

Hi lowrider69, what plants are you growing and when did you re-pot them? How old are they and have they started to suffer only after the last re-potting?

I find general multipurpose or houseplant compost perfectly ok for most plants, but tend to add sand to it. More sand for plants which prefer to dry out between waterings and for cacti and succulents upto 50%. Less for moisture lovers. Orchids need their special mix, but that's the only "special" care plants I have.

 

well my money plant is looking quite sad and my new cheese plant leaf is starting to so signs of stress on the leaf and its been since i repotted them month or 2 ago the soil does not seem to dry out its been moist since i done them

 

They might be too wet. The money plant needs to dry out well between waterings, and also wants a sunny position. The Swiss cheese plant is more tolerant to dampness and shade, but waterlogging will kill it eventually.

The best test to know if a plant needs watering is to poke your finger in the soil. The money plant needs to have the soil dry until the first joint of your finger at least, and when it's resting over the winter, even longer. The cheese plant prefers a proper drink when the first joint of the finger is dry-ish, and not just a splash on the surface but a proper soaking so that the excess runs out. Then leave it until the top part is again dry.

If you need or want to re-pot them next spring, I'd recommend adding sand for the money plant. The cheese plant is probably perfectly fine in any compost.

Oh, and if you use decorative pots to hide the growing pots with drainage, it's easy to overwater and leave water inside the decorative pot which will rot the roots. I have very nice decorative bowls and pots to house the growing pots but find them increasingly fiddly. A container with good drainage holes on a saucer or a bowl is much easier to manage.

 

My cheese plant dries out regularly, especially at this time of the year.
I water it when I think about it, they are quite resilient to dryness, mine is in the conservatory, in shade, but reaches 90F pretty often in summer.
The compost will go sour if it stays wet too long.
Money plant, as much grit and sand as soil, 50:50 I would say, and some full sun, they do their growing and flowering in mid winter.

 

i have got small pebbles on top to keep the dirt in think that may not help with the drying out as well

 

Yeah, I've never liked topping off cacti etc. with grit, it might look good but gives you no indication of the actual soil moisture.

 

I use a moisture probe

 

Better off using your finger