Amended Master Succulent Soil Mix & Plant Haul Pot Up

These are my recent plant haul from a couple of succulent sellers on Facebook. These needs to be powdered up but before I do that, I'd like to show you my amended Master Succulent Soil Mix. What is a Master Succulent Soil Mix? This is a general purpose soil mix that I put together which is the basis of my other soil mixes such as the Advanced Soil Mix. A fast draining soil mix suitable for succulents such as Haworthia and Cacti. Hello there, my name is Liz, a self-confessed succulent addict. Welcome to my channel, Growing Succulents. I have been missing my decomposed granite for a while now but since I couldn't get any more decomposed granite, I thought I'll show you what I have been using for a while since I amended my Master Succulent Soil Mix. So this is still my Master Succulent Soil Mix so I'm using all purpose, hang on, there you go. This is the cheapest potting mix that we can get from here in Australia. So it doesn't have too many stuff and then the ratio is still the same as two parts potting mix, one part perlite, one part coconut coir. I'll tip this out here. I am not going to measure it out anymore because I've done this a couple of times before so I can already guesstimate how much I would be needing. But with this, I used to sieve them as well but I find that it's not really necessary. So if you have little bits of big bark or something like that then you can just take it off. I used to use I think one part of those granite but with perlite now, I am using guesstimate four. Ah, I forgot to wear a mask. Oh my goodness. Anyway, after the perlite, I've got coconut coir. So again, guesstimate. So this is actually equivalent to like five of this container, the potting mix that I've got here. So I'm just going to put two. These quite big buckets are equivalent to sort of, there you go. A bit more than half the amount of my potting mix. Okay, next lot is, I also use this one, Seamungus, as my fertilizer because this thing doesn't have, sadly, any fertilizer. So guesstimate as well. Okey dokes. My decomposed granite has all these different minerals and now I have found this one. So this is called rock minerals. I've been using this for a while now. It's a fertilizer and soil improver. It's got nitrogen 11. So there's going to be a lot of greening basically. Phosphorus, potassium is nine, phosphorus is two. And then it's got volcanic eruptus, non-leaching, waterway safe and also resistance booster to insects and diseases. So which is important. So that is what we want basically. Now there's five kilograms in here, but I'm not going to use this. That's what I said. I've been using this one for a while. So the equivalent of 125 grams per square meter if you were to apply this on the ground. So I'm just going to guesstimate that this is roughly around one square meter. So I'm putting about, that's about 60 grams. So 120, I think. Is that 60, 40? Okay, that's a little. So about 120 grams is what I put with this one. That's it. Now you can also add some coarse sand like this one. I've been gathering some of this sand, probably about five or six millimeter size. You can throw in a couple or I'm going to throw in a couple just for weight basically, but it also helps in the drainage. So it's just creating gaps and sort of weigh the soil down so it doesn't dry up too quickly. Okay, and that's it. Now all I have to do is mix it all up. So this is now the consistency that I prefer. Okay, there you go. Nice, beautiful, but it still sort of falls apart. It doesn't clump up. And this is also still a little bit moist. Okay, let's put up. These are my two box plant hole that are waiting to be potted up. So after unboxing them last night, I let them all dry up straight away to give them time to basically adjust to their new environment. Just sort of feeling the air around them. Normally before in the past, I would have soaked them straight away. But this time I have a different approach because the last time I was soaking them, it's always been good. But I had a batch of soil that I just filled with fungus gnats. And then this one now I have to finally see and wait to see if this soil has any fungus gnats. And I found out that these ones are actually good because this potting mix that I've got were out of stock for a while, so I couldn't get them. So I have to use different potting mix basically to my different types of soil mix. And lo and behold, they are filled with fungus gnats, even though I dried them up and I still filled up with fungus gnats. But this one now here is hoping that this one I haven't seen any fungus gnats when I open it up. So hopefully this one plus this one is back in stock. I'm just checking now every single thing just in case it's a fungus gnat. So I haven't seen anything flew around or flew out of the bag that they came in. So I'm quite happy with this soil mix or this potting mix. So I'm ready to pot up with using my heart pot. So look at this. So I've got holes that I drilled up. So this actually came with just one hole. So it's just the center hole here. You can see that. So I got this from the reject shop. And of course, I drilled holes in it. So I put some little meshes. I want one, two, three, because you need more holes for the air to circulate underneath the soil, going up the top to your plants to keep the roots growing and happy and loose, basically. So anyway, so that's what the mesh. Actually, I doubled them up. So instead of just a single one, I use this gyprock plaster or plasterboard drywall. In other countries, that's what you call it. Anyway, here in Australia, we call it plasterboard gyprock. There you go. Now, so double. So now I'm going to put some, I got balls here. I got lots of balls, lacquer balls from the garden. You can put other rocks if you like, or it doesn't have to be lacquer balls. You can use scoria or even coconut husk, like anything to just basically cover it or piece of paper. Just so the soil doesn't go through initially. And as the plant grows, the roots will grow and that will sort of form a mat around the soil, hold it in together. So when you water it, it doesn't get washed away. So okie doke. So I'll fill this up. OK, the very first plant, plants I'm going to put in here basically are the ones that's in dire need. OK, I'm going to start with this one. So this is Echeveria julia variegated. So Miss Julia here, I'm going to remove that. I've got my own. It came with a label, but anyway, the label easily gets wet and then the label, the name disappears. So that's what happens. And you're best having a piece of blinds. This is metal, metallic blinds is what I use for my labels. And Julia here is going to go on the side here and I need to fill you up. There you go, because you are in dire need of moisture, water. OK, so the next one I'm going to put in here is another succulent that also can suffer from the frost. So the plants I'm putting in here, basically it's got thin leaves, Echeveria. So this one now is called Blue Rose crested. There you go. So gorgeous plant. Look at that. Beautiful. And you can see the roots. Don't worry about the roots. Don't need to wash it or do anything. Plant it as is. Don't trim it. Oh, well, I don't trim it. I leave it. So it's quite thin anyway, so you can trim it, remove all the roots if you like. But for me, it's not necessary. Just tease it up a little bit. That's all I did. And hang on. Put a little bit more soil. Top it up. Now, anything that's got a barky thing, we break it and put it in. This is a bit too long, but that also provides good drainage for the soil so it doesn't get compacted. So that's the beauty I find of having those barks as well. Unless they're really, really big, then it's only time you, well, I remove it. There you go. So now blue rose can go here. Last, I'm putting three in this pot. So this is also, I'm not too sure about this. I'm sure this one looks like it can survive the frost, but it's got quite sort of borderline thin leaf. So any echeveria that's got thin leaf, I'm not too sure. The first year, because in a few weeks time, it's going to be winter. And so I don't want it to suffer. So first up, we still have enough time, or the weather, or the days are still warm enough to make them grow. Because this is actually the ideal growing condition at the moment. They just love this sort of weather. Anyhoo, we're going to put that one there. And, okay, another trick I like to do is put rocks. And there's a good reason for that. And I haven't explained it for so many times. People think I just do it just to make it look pretty. But these rocks, this is actually a chert. So this is what's called a chert. This absorbs heat like you would not believe. So if I put this in my pot here, what happens now is that during the day, with a little bit of sunshine, what happens, the rock will absorb the heat of the sun. And, believe you me, that is enough for overnight warmth. So I think that one is a little bit too thick for this pot here, so I'm going to use this one. So people think, oh, I just put these rocks for that. And I kept forgetting to mention it, that that's the reason why. I'll do this reverse, okay? And that will also give separation, make them totally separated. And that way, you stay in that corner and I stay in that corner. But this one, I'm not going to worry about that one. But Julia here is going to have to just fend for herself. I could put something to make it pretty, like these ones. Pretty rocks, we can just scatter next to it there. After I put the dressing, of course. But instead, I am going to give you warmth. And I think this one is a little bit too thick, so I'm using this pretty rock again. That's the prettier side, to go all the way around here. That way, it can cover the three of them, give them comfort. There you go, that's all. And that is good enough. And now, I'm going to put some dressing. You can use anything, basically, but all I've got is akadama. And also, the akadama will actually help keep the soil or the moisture in the soil, basically. And also, akadama dries up really quickly as well, which is detrimental to the health of the succulent if it's sitting on something wet for a long time. So it's like you having a bath. If you stay in the bath for a long time, your feet's going to go white, root rot or foot rot if you stay too long. And succulents are the same. Their feet will rot. Okay, there you go. So there you go. Can you see how beautiful that is? There you go. You do side by side. Beautiful. Okay, so we'll put this one away. I'm going to give it a couple of days to sort of dry up, settle down, and then before I water it, basically. So maybe three days from now, I'm going to water them. Now, next one is this one. Oh, hang on before I forget. The pretty one. I need the pretty one. So come a little pretty one or pretty one. I've got a pretty one here. This is called pink heron. Look how beautiful that is. Okay, we are going to pot this up. I'm not going to show you how I'm going to pot everything up, but it's the same thing. I've got two of these. You know what it is? There you go. And then I'm going to cross them over so they overlap, making the holes a little bit smaller. And so we put them inside there, put them there, and it's also got a hole. That's the reason why. So this is such a pretty pot. I had one dragon, I think, before. Red dragon that's like $35 was planted in here, but of course, I neglected it and dried up. And of course, now I am recycling it, reusing this pot, and I'm putting my pink heron. Pretty, pretty pink heron. Been after this for a while. I remember when this first came out, it's like $250. Now, only paid $30. Now, this one's very straightforward, simple. I don't know if you can see me on the side there. There you go. So I'm just topping it up. I'm going to stick this in the middle, the thick end of my little thingamajig there. And so now, I'm going to get akadama, top it up over everything. So now, I jiggle, jiggle, jiggle. I get jiggy with it. Okay, there. I'll go in. Hang on. It's a bit too big, so I'm going to go ease it up a little bit, help it along, basically. There you go. Oh, so pretty. You are so pretty. Look. Oh, hang on. Why do... There you go. You can face me here. There you go. Done. Pink heron. Look at the beautiful pot. Isn't it? Gorgeous pot for a couple of dollars. And look, beautiful. That complements it nicely. Okay, so now, this is the last potting up I'm going to show you because there's a reason for this. I was going to sing again, but we won't. I am using this pot. So I'm just going to, okay, spin this around first so you can see. Look. This is a salt pot, ceramic, and I actually tested it. Just lick it, wash it to make sure there's no salt because I think it was used before as a salt container or putting salt in it. So, anywho, it's a beautiful pot. Look. It's just sort of simple but very, very, I don't know. Anyway, I drilled a hole in the bottom. It did not come with holes, so I got one hole from the bottom to drain the water out, so that's a big hole. And then I put a small hole on the top here, just one here, enough for my index finger to go in there or go through. That is to let the air through here and blow onto the plant that I'm going to put in here. Now, the plant I'm putting in here is quite controversial in the sense that I love the plant, okay? But I hate growing it because I like to water from the top. And, of course, I always have to water from the top. It's so hard to just get the watering can and, oh, just be gentle with it. So, it has, well, I have grown many, many, many lawi, although I have grown a lot, they are not pristine. So, they're not very, very pretty at all. So, I'm going to put two of these as well. So, I'm going to do cross again. So, that way the holes, okay, hang on, that's a little bit, there you go, go against the hole, making the hole smaller, making the soil stay in the pot, not outside the pot. And I'm going to put some balls again. I paid $28 for these two plants because this is a round form. I don't really know whether it's a round form, but I do know the lawi I had before was sort of a longer form. Now, whether this one will grow only that short, well, I know it's going to grow bigger than this, but I don't know if it's going to plump up in my growing condition. But what I want to do with this one is grow it pristine. I want a pristine lawi with no marks. So, like this one, the farina or the white powder has been touched, basically. So, that's why you're seeing all the sort of a salmony pink color on the edges. That's because of that. So, because you're not supposed to touch it. And this is such a beautiful plant that this has been used as one of the plants to hybridize many, many, many hundreds of varieties of Echeveria or soft succulent. It could be Graptoveria or Pachypaetum or Graptopetalum. That's been hybridized using the lawi. So, it's a very, very, very pretty plant. Anyway, so in the wild, if you have a look online and type in Echeveria lawi in the wild, you will see that they tend to grow in rocks sort of going down. And so, the plant is on the top like this one, same scenario like that. But they are basically the water sort of just goes through them. They don't sit in water, so they don't like water. But in saying that, they still needed to be watered. So, once or every six months, basically, the areas where a lot of these plants came from, they get a deluge of rain and the area gets watered. Okay, so that's why I put that level there. So, the soil can't go beyond the hole that I put it in, my air hole. When they get rain, they get a lot of rain and they get soaked for days, sometimes a week. And, of course, they take in as much water as they can for the rest of the year. They're not going to get any drink at all. So, it's very, very rare, the rain that will drop down. So, this is basically native to Mexico, I think, Lawi. Anywho, so if you Google up the geology and the rainfall they get every year, it's not much, basically. So, now, I'm going to put some of this Akadama in here already. That's already the level. Can't see. Anyway, can you tell me if that's enough? Because you can see it better than I can. Anyway, so I'm just going to put my finger here. There you go. So, now, all I'm going to do with this one is I'm going to put the label first, just in case I forget that it's a Lawi. I never forget. It's just because the price, $28 I paid for it, and that would also give me the date when I bought it. And I can use it as a reference to the date when I kill it. No, I'm not going to kill you. Please don't die. Anyway, so this one's good now. And all I'm going to do with this one is just, hang on, plonk it there. There you go. Ah, isn't that pretty? Look at that. There's a Lawi hiding inside the pot. Now, as the plant grows, it will extend itself out, basically, and in search of the light, follow the light. So, that one can grow up the top, and then that one can sort of flow over on the side. And they tend to grow sort of hanging. This is to encourage them as well to sort of grow hanging out. And that's the reason why I bought this specific two-headed Echeveria Lawi. So, that's part of my experiment. Anyway, guys, I'm going to continue potting this up. And also, where I'm going to put this is somewhere hanging up. So, you're seeing the back of it. So, it's going to hang up, and it's not going to get basically wet. So, when I water this, I can just water on the inside here or on the back. Well, of course, I have to take it out if I don't sort of fix it onto the wall. But anyway, I have to find a wall somewhere where it's permanent, basically, or I can just sit it on the shelf as well. But know that this one is not going to get watered at all. So, that's my purpose in buying this because I don't want it to basically be imperfect. I want to grow a perfect Lawi. And to maintain the perfectionalism of this Lawi, I'm going to put a couple of barbecue sticks in here. So, that way, it can't move. There you go. So, it doesn't fall out. Okay. There you go. I got them on the neck. So, see now? It doesn't fall out. Excellent. Anyway, grow, baby, Lawi, grow. I hope you become a very perfectionista one day. Perfectionista Lawi. Perfection. Perfecto mundo. I have now finished potting up everything from my two boxes are better than one plant haul. And these are the different types of succulents that I've got potted up using the amended master succulent soil mix. So, the first one is this is an Echeveria. And this pot was actually free from the seller. So, this came with the different succulents I got from him. And he always gives you a free pot. And this one is Echeveria sp. silk variegated. So, it's a hybrid or a species of some unknown. Anyway, it's beautiful with the variegation. It's only sort of light. But that will become brighter if it's exposed to a lot of sunlight. And these two here are Canopythum, which is just so cute. This is actually free from the AH succulents. So, that was given free. And also, this one also came free with that same seller. And I have found out the name. This is Cregiana. And that one is I think it's a Colorado cross Mexican giant hybrid. Maybe also known as Tapalpa or Colorado Tapalpa maybe. So, but I wrote it as Colorado cross Mexican giant hybrid, which is just absolutely beautiful with its thick farina. And the next one is, this is also free. This is cute beans is what it's called. And I planted the cute bean in this cute donut. Hang on. Should I actually reverse that? There you go. They're the same. So, anyway. So, Echeveria cutie beans or cute beans. Yeah, it is. Cutie beans variegated. And it's so cute. Look at that. So cute. So small. Look. Look at my thumb. But that will thicken up because of the way it's growing. It's got long stem. And, of course, I put Akadama as a dressing for my topping because that's the only one I've got. But if you have decomposed granite, also known as Myfan stone, then it's better for the plant. The next one here, I've got Sedeveria Blue Elf variegated. So, I have a blue elf, and they are quite a slow-growing plant. So, these two small plants here, hang on. That took me a long time to grow. Hang on. Let's go check out the label. So, I paid $30, and that was a long time ago. At least two years ago is when I bought this. And I paid $30 for one plant. And that small one here is already a baby. So, if you compare this one. Look at that. Look at the size. See? Look at that. So, this is not a camera trick. That is really small, my one. This one is already big as well, and the one I've got now. So, and it's only $20. So, this is much, much cheaper. So, should I put you next to each other? I will later on. But we continue with the other ones. And you can see that the pot is a lot smaller compared to the other plants that I've got. So, this one, I suspect this will actually grow fast. And it will have long stem and deeper roots. And that's why I planted it in a taller pot, basically. And that one can grow in that small pot. But the good thing about this pot here is that it bellies out. So, if it does produce a lot of roots, it's got room to grow. Now, at the back here is from the chow collection. So, this is Trangkata Best Blue Takema. Look how nice and big that is. Oh, gorgeous, isn't it? There's a couple of marks on that one there, and a little bit there, and a little bit there. But that doesn't worry me because if I could get this growing good, from my previous experience when I don't neglect my succulents, this will take no time at all to grow and outgrow all those scars that it's got. So, it will be more beautifuller. Now, the Canopythum here, this is not planted in my Master Succulent Soil Mix. I actually have to use, with Canopythum and Lithops, or anything that looks like a stone plant, they prefer a more grittier mix, so I use my Advanced Soil Mix. So, there's a link below this video in the description box as to how I put together my Advanced Soil Mix. And Advanced Soil Mix is ideal for ceramic pots that actually doesn't need that much watering because of the hot and cold condensation on the pot, and that will go to the roots of the plant. So, it can actually survive a lot longer without watering, but that doesn't mean they don't need water. They still need water, but only enough for them to take on, or whatever's in their environment, but they don't like to be sitting in wet soil all the time. Therefore, the reason for the Advanced Soil Mix, which is a more rocky mix. So, this one, I put some fine, decomposed granite that I have left, and also the same with the freebie little Bruggeria. It's so cute! Look at that! Oh my God, look at that cute lips! Anyway, so it's a beautiful plant, and it's actually plumped up after being watered. So, I watered one, two, three, after potting them up. So, even this one now looks like it's going to pop out some babies. So, from one plant, it's going to look like it's going to have three little, tiny, little babies. And this actually doesn't need that much soil. They have very small roots, as I found out, but anyway, if they do outgrow their pot, I'm sure they will tell me. Now, I have two hard pots that has got, so I've drilled three holes, of course, and on my hard pot. And I planted all the small, one, two, three, four, five Haworthia that I have here. These ones, I also use my Master Succulent Soil Mix with this one. So, they are not really, I find that Haworthia are not really that fussy, as long as they have to be outdoors and get a lot of air circulation and watered regularly, actually, then they're happy. And that's the reason why I put three holes in the pot as well. So, to allow for air circulation from under the pot or through the roots going up the top to the plant. So, that makes them happy. And next one is this one here. This is, since this has got actually a lot of roots, and that's why the variety, Septolithera, Hybrid, Fairy, Haworthia. So, this one is $8. And I feel that this one will actually grow faster, and that's why I put it in this bigger pot. Now, also this one, the Truncata, the Best Blue Takema, I'm going back to it. I also planted it in the same pot because it too has got a lot of roots. So, it'll have room to grow for the roots. The Lilacina, I just planted it, or should I say my only Lilacina now. I think I found a smaller one that I have to rehabilitate. But so far, this is the biggest Lilacina because I planted them in my garden and the snails had a field day with them and eventually it killed them. So, if I do propagate more of Lilacina in the future, I will be putting them in a pot and not put it in the garden. So, it seems like the snails love it. Oh, gorgeous. And hopefully, I will say soon, one of my favorite plants is Echeveria Laui, otherwise known as Echeveria Laui. That's what the literal translation is. But anyway, hopefully, she will be Maganda Dai or Beautiful Girl. And my wishlist plant, Pink Heron Variegated. Look at the pot I planted it in. Look how beautiful you are. Are you beautiful from this side? Only that side. So, this is a left-handed mug. Well, it depends. It might be a right-handed. So, when you're drinking a cuppa with someone, I think that's the premise is that you are showing your best face forward to the other person that you're drinking across the table or something. But anyway, it's a beautiful pot that compliments the Pink Heron beautifully, perfectly. Last but not the least is the heart pot again. So, this is the most expensive and also one of my wishlist plants, which is the Julia. She even has her Chinese name. Look. So, Amanda also writes the name of the plants on the leaves like me. Anyway, so, that one now, I haven't watered this, but I can feel that the Julia has already taken up some moisture from the soil overnight even. You know, because I potted this up a few hours ago, I have to go to sleep. And of course, when I woke up, I'm doing this video now. And of course, the rock, the little rock that I put across just perfectly highlights this Paris rose. Oh, you are so beautiful. I'm just hoping that that will actually extend over here to grow. But if not, that's why I left some space instead of planting it sort of in the middle. I decided to plant it this way. So, just in case there's another baby, I have room to plant it there. But for now, the spot is taken up by this pink agate just so we can highlight the beauty of this Paris rose. Now, last but not least is my blue rose variegated. The most expensive, but because of all the freebies that I got, which is the Burgery. I remember one time this used to be like $40 or something like that for one plant. And then it went down to $25. I think it started with $50 and then it went down to $40, $25. And then now you're only buying one plant, by the way. So, one head Burgery. So, I still remember like, should I, shouldn't I? Should I, shouldn't I? And the good thing, I shouldn't I. And now I have one or two. Maybe these are actually different variety of kind of python, but it doesn't matter. But that label should actually go to here, the Burgery. And then this one, I don't know what your name is now. But anyway, we will find out when you get a little bit bigger. So anyway, the blue rose now. As I spin this around and show you this beautiful variegated crested blue rose that cost me $108, which in my calculation now, because if I add up all the free plants that I got, this only works out like $70, which becomes really, really cheap. And if I were to hack this plant now and chop it off and chop that off and leave one for me, I could sell that for $40, $40. And then I still got something left in the middle. I could sell it for $40 as well, but I won't. I will keep it for myself, but that would have paid for the plant itself. But anyway, guys, that's all I've got for you. Well, anyway, people are laughing now because, oh, I forgot. There's also one, two more plants on the side, a single that I could sell for $20 each. Look, look, look, look, the non-crested one. So that makes it a very, very, very cheap plant. Anyway, guys, that's all I've got for this video. Thank you so much. So since this video is about my amended master succulent soil mix, hope that helps out a lot of people who can't seem to access decomposed granite like I do. Anyway, I will continue to search commercially some decomposed granite, and hopefully I'll find some, and I will get to use it on my succulents again in the future. But for the meantime, I have found that this amended version of the master succulent soil mix seems to have worked for my succulents. So anyway, guys, thank you so much for watching, and hope I'll see you on the next video. Bye-bye for now. It's beautiful. Look at that. Gorgeous.