What soil is best for growing flowers? Choose the best potting mix according to the habits of your plants

The question of what soil is best for growing flowers is what flower lovers care about most. Generally speaking, it is the flower that chooses the soil, not the soil that chooses the flower, and different plants have different requirements for soil. This article will give a comprehensive explanation of potting soil, so that flower lovers can gain a completely new understanding of it and be able to choose the most suitable soil for their own plants based on the characteristics of those plants.

What soil is best for growing flowers

Let us first talk about some of the soils that flower lovers commonly use for growing flowers, to see whether you are using them too: soil dug directly from outside (garden soil), purchased potting mix, purchased peat soil, mixtures of cinder, garden soil and sand in different proportions, leaf mold dug from outside, and soil blended according to the characteristics of different plants.

Among the several soils above, in theory the soil blended according to plant characteristics is the best, because the needs of the plants have been taken into account. In fact, most novice flower growers in China share a mistaken view: no matter what plant they grow, they dig soil from outside, then dig a hole, bury some soil, water it, and done. This is actually a huge mistake. For native local plants and flowers this may work, but for horticultural varieties of plants and flowers, it very easily kills them.

So does that mean we must spend a lot of money to buy potting soil? Of course not necessarily. For most plants and flowers, good air permeability and good water permeability are the two core factors, and the reason many flower lovers say garden soil is no good is precisely that garden soil has poor air and water permeability. So many flower lovers mix a certain proportion of cinder, sand, other granular soil and so on into garden soil to increase its air permeability.

Having said all that, it is mainly for flower lovers who read carefully. If you are a flower lover who finds it too troublesome, you might consider the following suggestions:

1. For growing flowers, the first choice of soil is one matched to the plant being grown. For example, for growing orchids, there is special orchid soil for sale; for growing clivia (Clivia miniata), there is special clivia soil for sale.

2. If money is tight, you can directly buy peat or potting mix to replace the special soil.

3. If you are unwilling to spend money on soil, then use what was mentioned earlier. As long as you grasp the two points of air permeability and water permeability and make a reasonable blend, it will be fine. Flower lovers can blend with confidence and need not worry about whether there is too much or too little of a given proportion; approximate amounts are enough.

Editor's summary: There is no best soil for growing flowers, only the most suitable soil. Even the same soil behaves differently in the hands of different flower lovers. For flower lovers, after buying a plant, first understand its habits and see what kind of soil it likes, then according to your own circumstances, those with money can buy the corresponding special soil, and those without money can substitute other soils. Try as much as possible to meet the plant's needs. For example, for plants that like slightly acidic soil, try to avoid using local soil and buy slightly acidic potting mix as much as possible. If you really do not want to spend money, then learn to blend it yourself; it is actually very simple.