5 DIY Substrates You Will Love
8-minute read
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I have recently started exploring which plants grow best in which substrates. As a result of my experience, research, and trial and error I have found 5 substrates I love to grow plants in. I know you are going to love them too!
I am very much a take the easier approach type person for most things. For years I did not put much thought into soil for my plants. I would buy a bag from anywhere, in the beginning of my plant journey.
As a result, I have killed a lot of plants. In 2021, I took a break from plant care for a while and just maintained the easy ones in my collection and did not buy any new ones nor really put much thought into the care of the ones I had at the time.
Ironically, I was big into plants before plants were trendy. From 2016 to 2020 I grew my plant collection huge. I tried all kinds of plants. Then I took a long break and raised puppies.
Poodles, doodles, and puppies took over my life until summer of 2023. Now I still have poodles and a sheepadoodle, but I am no longer breeding for now, and am back into plants a lot more. This is ironic because I stopped growing my plant collection and creating plant content at the height of the houseplant trend. (Aka the covid lockdown.)
In summer of 2023 I got back into houseplants and have grown my house plant collection huge again. I feel like I have learned so much more and this time around I am all about learning not about growing varied species of plants but how to make the plants I love thrive.
Long story short, this has led me to do some experimenting, researching, and learning more about what it takes to help plants to thrive. I have started this journey with substrates. Here is why. Getting back into focusing my energy on my house plant raising hobby, I have found that it is a whole new world now.
I see many of you experimenting with all diverse kinds of substrates from chunky soils, favorite brands of soils, amending your soils to semi-hydros. I want to try them all! Learning what works and what does not work for a plant is so interesting to me.
You are going to want to save this pin to refer back to!
If you want to help your houseplants to thrive or just want to learn about and try out some new substrates you have come to the right place.
Let us dive in here and I will reveal my 5 go to DIY mixes. In this blog post I will share with you my 5 favorite substrates and the recipes for them all. Also, the pros and cons of each.
Aroid Mix
DIY Pon Semi Hydro Mix
Cacti & Succulent Mix
Seedling Mix
African Violet Mix
Bonus- easy soil amending
Aroid Mix
Aroid mix is a chunky DIY mix for all your aroid plants. Aroid plants need lots of aeration in their soil to obtain oxygen and let the water drain freely so that the roots stay healthy.
What plants do well in aroid mixes?
Philodendrons, Anthuriums, Pothos, Monsteras, ZZ Plants, Scindapsus, and Syngoniums to name a few. Aroid plants cover several species of common, beloved house plants.
Aroids are prone to root rot, that in most cases results in major problems and/ or death to your house plants.
That is why using a good aroid substrate, containing chunky substances to help with drainage and to allow air to the roots is best for preventing root rot and maintaining healthy house plants.
What is the recipe for my aroid mix?
1/3 coco coir, perlite, and mycorrhizae
1/3 Pumice and orchid bark
1/6 horticultural charcoal
1/6 coco chunks
Pros and Cons of Aroid mix
The pros are high with a good aroid mix.
Provides aeration to the plant’s roots
Provides better drainage
Helps to prevent root rot
Improves root health
Adds organic matter
Helps plants to take up nutrients more efficiently
Keeps plants from being over fertilized
The cons of a good aroid mix:
May be more expensive.
Separate bags of ingredients to buy and store.
Fertilizer is needed.
Cacti & Succulent Mix
Cacti & Succulent mix is a super chunky DIY mix for your cacti and succulents. Cacti and Succulents have small root systems and hold water in their foliage. This makes them more prone to root rot if the soil is too heavy or holds water too long.
What plants do well in cacti and succulent mixes?
Cacti, Aloe Veras, Tradescantias, Pilea plants, Snake plants, and all succulent varieties. Plants with a smaller root system thrive in a chunkier soil. For one their roots do not have to stay wet for too long preventing them from getting root rot. Also, a chunky substrate helps to provide stability to plants with thicker and heavier foliage.
Cacti and a lot of succulents hold water in their leaves making them more top heavy. Potting them in soil with chunky substrates helps to stabilize them by keeping them upright in their pots.
What is the recipe for my cacti & succulents mix?
1/4 pumice and orchard bark
1/4 Pon mix
1/4 coco coir, perlite, and mycorrhizae
1/8 horticultural charcoal
1/8 coco chunks
Pros and Cons of Cacti & Succulent Mix
The pros of this mix:
Improves drainage
Helps the plant to take up nutrients
Provides stability for the plant in the pot
Prevents substrate from becoming compacted
Improves aeration to the root system
Keeps plants from becoming over fertilized
The cons of this mix:
May be more expensive
More ingredients to buy and store
Fertilizer is needed
Semi-Hydro Mix or DIY Pon
Semi-hydro mixes have become increasingly popular in the house plant world in the last few years. House plant enthusiasts are finding that many species of plants thrive in substrates other than soil.
Also, the fact that by growing plants in semi-hydro substrates plant parents can go longer between waterings and have better control over nutrient uptake to help their plants to grow bigger, stronger, and healthier.
What plants do well in semi-hydro or DIY Pon?
Any plant, it seems, can be grown in semi-hydro substrates. Ask any plant parent who has experimented with pon and they will tell you how much they love it, especially for their Alocasias.
I have a Peace Lily currently in pon. So far, she is doing great! I almost lost the entire plant in regular soil so I salvaged what I could and potted it in my DIY pon and she is thriving now.
What is the recipe for DIY pon mix?
1/2 Pumice (3/16”)
1/4 Lava Rocks
1/4 Zeolite
Pros and Cons of Pon Mix
Pros for growing your plants in pon:
Longer periods of time between waterings
Better control over nutrients
A lot of species thrives in this substrate
Pon lovers claim their plants grow bigger and healthier
Less prone to diseases
Cons for growing in pon:
Transferring plants from soil to pon can be risky
(transfer to water first, then to pon)
Pon is heavier
Pon can be messy
Adding fertilizers and pH the water is needed
Growing in pon can be more expensive
Seedling mix
Coco coir, perlite, and mycorrhizae make a simple, yet incredible substrate for all your baby plants and seedlings.
What plants do well in seedling mix?
Sowing seeds, seeds that have just sprouted, and baby plants that are not to their mature form yet. Also, any plant that is struggling to root up nicely.
What is the recipe for my seedling mix?
2/3 coco coir
1/3 perlite
2 tsp of mycorrhizae
Pros and Cons of this seedling mix.
Pros:
Simple 3 ingredients mix
Lightweight and airy to get your plants started.
May be cheaper than most bagged seedling mixes.
Cons:
More bags of ingredients to buy and store.
African Violet Mix
Controversial and I am still experimenting with this mix.
If you look up a good soil for African violets you will find a mix of peat moss, vermiculite, and perlite is considered a pro mix for your African Violets.
For the last year I have been growing my African Violets in Fox Farm Ocean Forrest from leaf cutting to fully mature, blooming plants.
I wanted to produce my own mix for my African Violets to make them a bit more manageable. Because with Fox Farm Ocean Forrest my African Violets were drying out way too quickly. So, I decided to get the ingredients needed to water less frequently.
My mix consists of peat moss, perlite, vermiculite, earthworm castings, and mycorrhizae. I felt confident about repotting all my African Violets in this soil mix, at first.
Now I am not happy with the progress. I feel like this soil is too heavy and compact. I have lost one of my African Violets plants and 4 of my leaf propagates. I am not happy with this!
So, I am still experimenting with this soil mix. I am thinking of coco coir instead of peat moss. Perlite only no vermiculite, and orchid bark, pumice, and tree fern. We shall see how this new one works. Stay tuned I will let you know the results.
Bonus- Soil amending made easy!
You may not want to buy lots of different ingredients to make your own substrates. This approach is not for everyone, and it does not necessarily make you a better plant parent.
An alternative approach to house plant substrate is to buy a quality house plant soil such as Fox Farm Ocean Forrest, or Promix. These brands are both good options. And you can add a few amendments to them if you want to.
What are some good amendments to add to your store-bought soil?
Chunk it up a little for your aroid plants with perlite, orchid bark, and/ or pumice.
Adjusting it for your cacti and succulents add a large perlite and/or pumice, lava rocks, and horticultural charcoal.
For an easy seedling mix pick up a bag of Fox Farm Happy Frog mix. This one comes premade and ready to get all your seedlings started in.
I highly recommend adding mycorrhizae to all your plants regardless of substrate. I started using this addition a little over a year ago and it has made an enormous difference in my growing experience. From less stress when repotting, to rooting up baby plants more quickly and just an overall healthier house plants growing experience.
Other substrates to Consider
Tree fern is on my list for the near future.
Leca is an alternative to pon for your semi-hydro grow.
Sphagnum moss for rooting up baby plants and to add climbing plants to moss poles.
Fluval stratum is a good substrate to start seedlings and baby plants in.
Orchiata is said to be superior to regular orchid mixes, but pricier. But as they say you get what you pay for. It holds water on the outside layer and is slightly rough for the roots to adhere to. I do so want to get my hands on a bag of this substrate and see if there is a noticeable difference.
Currently, for my Orchids, I use orchid bark, pumice, and horticultural charcoal. I top the substrate with sphagnum moss to help retain moisture.
In conclusion here, I am having a lot of fun exploring substrates and hope I have inspired you too as well.
Which substrates have you used? Which are your favorites? Please let me know in the comments.
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