Onlyplants Potting Mix | Ingredients, Benefits, Pros and Cons

If you are not new to the channel, you would probably have seen my soil and potting mix videos, and heard me talk about the different mixes all the time in my propagation videos. In this video I share all five of my potting mix ingredients and why we chose these ingredients. You may try to replicate this mix in your respective countries, or if you live in Indonesia you can opt to purchase one already mixed by us.
Timestamp
01:15 - General potting mix
04:24 - Aroid potting mix
09:01 - Forest floor potting mix
12:16 - Cactii succulent potting mix
15:37 - Garden potting mix
Shoutout to my business partner Jeff at Primaflora for making this mix the best that it can be, as we strive to provide good value on a very high quality product that produces results.
My instagram: @bo.tan.ist
Support me on patreon: / seanfromonlyplants
Jazz background music made by Rhythm Alley
/ rhythmalley.taiwan
Background music are created by me exclusively for this channel.

[@arthuslim]

I like how selfless sean's video is, like he share the different soil mix with the world and getting down dirty in plants propagation, I mean really dirty. Have not come across any plantubers that do this. Hope he reaches his 100k soon.

[@onlyplants]

Thank you 🥰

[@OfGraySkies]

Arthus he’s at his 100k now lol and I’m a new subscriber!

[@eehhh3791]

@@OfGraySkies Me too and I will be donating some money to him too haha

[@pegki9770]

All my plants want to say "Hello! 😁" and "Thank you so much, Sean!" 💚

[@kindafoggy]

Thank you Sean. I'm so grateful for all this valuable information. Much more hopeful for my houseplants thanks to you!

[@onlyplants]

❤️❤️

[@victoriagrapsidou3474]

Honesty and caring is what I appreciate in you ! Thank you dearest Sean! Another great video for our plants!!

[@TheSoilBar]

The anti microbial properties of bamboo are such a great benefit! And super sustainable. At The Soil Bar we also have a Forest Floor Mix here in the U.S that’s similar to yours. Clearly your forest floor mix is awesome! Look at your plants!

[@onlyplants]

😀😀

[@inos3697]

Thank you Sean, I’ve been waiting for this video. Saved it!

[@marsf4883]

Thanks for showing all the potting mixes. Will have to incorporate some of those ingredients into my potting mix for hoyas, and succulents.

[@rosalinetendenilla3120]

Thanks for sharing us wonderful plant mix!

[@morning-fix]

Took notes like a student :) Very informative. Many of my plants need a potting mix upgrade. Your videos are fantastic.

[@jeanettecandelaria2310]

Always very informative !! Thank you !!

[@andyteo5560]

Thanks! These are really very useful and helping.

[@fitzgeralddizon83]

Thanks for sharing. Always go through your videos for tips..

[@Daisy.florina]

Thank you we need this important information.

[@andrescastillo07]

Great content! Here in Costa Rica we don't have some of those ingredients, so what I have learned from you is to play with the ratio of each component that I have here (coco coir, charcoal, perlite, pumice, coconut husk and worm castings) depending of the type of plant I'm repotting. :D My only wish is to have the ingredients to recreate the forest floor mix, it looks so yummy! haha Thank you!

[@vincentcarlovidal1063]

super helpful!!! i will probably try and experiment on these with my plants! thanks!!

[@raqueldelgado2426]

Your humility is so refreshing! Thank you for all the hard work.

[@onlyplants]

🙈

[@rosalinetendenilla3120]

Yes i also use charcoal in my nonsoil mix!

[@mariateresac.evangelista743]

Yes, I can see/feel your passion,💪 tysm for this video!😘 Very relatable,☺️ I've killed lots, due to my own wrong potting mix and fly by night sellers'. Sending 💞 from your neighbor 🇵🇭 Philippines!'

[@tastylifeplantlady706]

sooo good... Love to watch...

[@havanahavana2811]

Thank you so much 🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@manishachahel3862]

Thank you!!

[@NewMindGarden]

Amazing sharing.. 🌷🌷

[@karens4116]

Enjoying the videos and the captions are funny lol

[@365designs]

It’s so funny how different your potting mix is compared to what we have in the US. Never even heard of burnt rice hull lol… I believe what you are calling coconut peat we called coconut coir. Also instead of coconut chips we have pine bark chips. Your aroid potting mix looks very similar to what is sold here as orchid potting mix. So interesting😀 Just started watching your videos. I love them! It’s also so fascinating to me to see houseplants in some of their native environments aka Southeast Asia/Indonesia

[@onlyplants]

Yeahh orchid potting mix sounds right! Ive been hearing about it. Strange that no one thought to name them epiphytic or aroid mix! Haha

[@quionario2559]

I used saw dust of narra Tree mahogay Tree and Acacia Tree..Coconut Tree as well. Coco cube and dried leaves

[@captainjacksparrow127]

You dont believe that i was surching ur new video...but not upload then i watching ur old video then u upload this video 😀

[@onlyplants]

😀😀

[@sangmaungs]

Thanks for ur knowledge sharing sean/shawn.....keep going and will be waiting for another

[@horace6851]

if you check his patreon page he spells his name Sean. I didn't know until recently and misspelled it many times :), but now I do know so fyi.

[@margueriteocarroll9532]

Sean, is the Irish name for John. I wonder if he has Irish connections.

[@sangmaungs]

@@horace6851 thanks for ur explanation on behalf of sean him self 😂

[@sangmaungs]

@@margueriteocarroll9532 nah.. Another clarification, thanks dear😘

[@JustHarperGray]

I love your content! I realized that in the USA that the potting mixes are too general. So I bought all the ingredients and combined them depending on the plants needs. I definitely learned a lot from this video and I will try and get some more ingredients!

[@onlyplants]

You can get the general and amend it with substrate based on species. 😀

[@dennisrehmann2373]

How have your plants been doing with these mixes? I am so overwhelmed with all the general potting mixes but these seem to be some premium soils.

[@eehhh3791]

Hey man this is great content again I am learning heaps on your videos. Forest Floor mix and Aroid mix holy cow I am learning so much. Because you keep talking about Air/Aeration 90 percent of the time. I have now leanrt that Roots LOVE AIR its not Soil. Because I thought all plants in the world live in Soil like the compact the better. But soil is there way of absorbing the necessary nutrients and Micro Nutrient because it retains a certain amount of moisture for the roots to suck on. And also it helps keep them cool from being too warm or too hot for so long. And this is all from your teachings. This is why some of my Alocasias are thriving. I Had to get rid of the coco peat perlite and lots of potting mix recipes for my Alocasias. Root Rot is the killer of all my plants including my CAlathea. Making it 70% Chunky is the way to go for these plants because they hate soggy water for too long. Thank you, Thank you Again. I know some plants do love Loamy soil like Lavender, lettuce and Tomatoes but I just go to the shop for food lol.

[@onlyplants]

😀😀 you’re welcome

[@ellegantbrille]

wow, thanks! such a comprehensive soil mix explanation, really helpful for a beginner like me. thankfully i'm living in indonesia and all the materials are pretty easy to get! :)

[@onlyplants]

Oh yes we have a lot of options to work with. Ive been buying raw materials on tokopedia, but some garden supply store also sells individual ingredients

[@KiAsBaliCHANNEL]

Nice.... Owesome...

[@tanjowil9743]

This was very informative, from Brisbane Australia

[@onlyplants]

❤️❤️

[@sudhakarmvn4144]

Very useful content. What about the ratios of different components in each soil mix?

[@estevammachado1004]

I'm down with you with the "faster drainage better". i know we can have most aroids on more "wet"substrate, but for me, a substrate that dries fast enough that you have to water 2 or 3 times per week works way better (specially for us, tropical climates inhabitants lol). And i can confirm that your mixes would work really well, at least in tropical areas like mine and yours, because without any influence of you , my potting mixes, that i achive by trying out A LOT of ingredients and mixes, came out to be almost identical with yours ,except for 4 diferences, 1 in each kind of substrate : The akadama on the succulent sub. (waaay too expensive here in brazil, we are in fact a lot more far away from japan than you guys lol, i use tritured bricks, not as good, but good enough for something 1/20 the price lol) The coconut chips , here, our cocopalms are all growing in the coastal areas, and we dont have an reliable source of salt ant tanine free coconut chips, even tho we do have good source of coconut "peat", since these one is used in convencional agriculture here ( "industrial" germination, etc), instead i just use bark, and a little more peat since bark is less water absorvent. The bamboo ind the forest floor, i use dried thick leaves, we dont have this bamboo product here, and i had never heard of it untill this video, would be nice to try out if that someday became a thing in brazil) And in the "garden/trees/shrubs" sub. i also add a little bit of non carbonized, just dried rice husk, (i just bake or cook it a little so it kill the rice seeds that are still alive there), for most substrates, the "non carbonized"husk is not ideal, it retains way to much water, but for these purpose, it works really well for me, and it is veeeery cheap and eco-friendly!

[@estevammachado1004]

* by the way, just a disclaimmer , the differences I've sited have no intention of saying that my mix or yours is ​​better because of these differences. Just a curiosity, of very similar variations from a different region where the available items are not the same.

[@estevammachado1004]

and also, not just related to the theme of this video. You are one of the most charismatic "plant youtubers". And maybe some of your videos don't seem to be smart from a seller's point of view lol, but I'm sure that honesty and being willing to help and "show the secrets" will pay off by generating loyal customers who will keep the preference even if the price or delivery time is not the best available. It's a shame that even if you start shipping worldwide, I will never be able to be a customer here in Brazil :(

[@onlyplants]

Thanks for the share 😀

[@karthikk7593]

Took 40 seconds to subscribe. Great video.

[@onlyplants]

Thanks man. Welcome to the channel🙌🏽

[@susanasibilia9708]

Ha, I had the same reaction when I found his channel...INFORMATIVE

[@drishiti]

Firstly, I'd like to say thank you for the VERY helpful and valuable video! And, while watching it, I got a question. If I'm not mistaken, both general mix and garden mix are mainly composed of coco peat, and with some perlite, burnt rice husk, etc. But, water retention and drainage are said to be quite different. Colors look very different as well to the extent that the main ingredient of general mix seems like peat moss while that of garden mix seems like coco peat. In short, the main ingredients of both of them are coco peat, but water drainage and color are very different. Can I ask what is the main factor of different water drainage?

[@onlyplants]

The different amount and type of soil amendments used. Perlite, burnt rice hull, etc… You can amend anything to create more aeration, depending on environment and also how often you are willing to water the plants. Also garden plants that take full sun are much more moisture loving. Too much aeration and they might dry out too quickly

[@alicjadabek6305]

My dog’s name is Gia too :) She is 10 years old miniature yorkshire terrier and she is like my second daughter :) lt was so funny when l watched yours video first time And l find your baby’s name is Gia too :) l love your knolague And passion for plants :) l just started my collection at this year but l am really happy with my 200 plants all ready :) l wish you and all our plants comunity a lot off love and good people around :) god with us :) god in us :) regards from Poland :) ♥️

[@onlyplants]

Haha high five to Gia

[@onlyplants]

I sometimes call her Pia, Lia, Wia, or Mia when we are playing haha

[@maatirah6530]

Oh em gee!! I LOVED this!! Thank you so much. Could we use cinnamon in place of the rice hull for anti microbial properties?

[@onlyplants]

Cinnamon powder? May wash off quickly… maybe horticultural charcoal thats broken down into small bits will have similar effect 😀

[@adarshtv7807]

I do water my succulents once in 3 or 4 days as i have put them in full sunlight. I found one of my aloes shrivelled on watering weekly once. Now it has plumped up

[@synapses13]

I wish I could just buy this where I live but it also inspired me to make my own! My problem is moisture inside the containers leading to algae-is there a better way I can store my potting mix for more long term use? Thank you for this video 🥰

[@onlyplants]

I store mine in massive plastic bins away from light.

[@jovanessavf164]

Oooo! I was wondering when you were gonna come out with the CNS and general-compost-y potting mix. Haha

[@onlyplants]

Haha yes. But I think its final!

[@ashabu6793]

💚💚💚

[@gmatt2498]

Thx for the potting mix tip! And you have a very nice handsome face! So don't be shy to show sometimes 🙂

[@onlyplants]

😅

[@MEWong-ux2xt]

Great sharing. May I know which mix is recommended for snake plants? Thank you 🙂

[@onlyplants]

The cactii/succulent mix actually. That replicates their natural habitat most

[@crisazurita1]

Thanks for this amazing. video. What can I use instead of dried bamboo?

[@crisazurita1]

I am struggling with 10 calatheas in a very tropical country (😅), Colombia. Unbelievable but true. There is no easy, or possible at all, to get dried Bamboo... That's why my question.

[@onlyplants]

You could use many amendments instead of bamboo… im not sure whats available in your region but maybe small chunks of charcoal (for orchids), perlite… could help. Also terracotta pots instead of plastic pots give much more airflow into the media. We have quite similar environments although you are closer to the native habitat of the calatheas

[@kendravoracek3636]

💚💚

[@rocioguarniz5186]

Thank you for your excellent video! What is the potting mix for indoors Rosemary? Thanks again!!

[@onlyplants]

Wooh unless you have excellent grow lights or super bright window with strong direct light blasting in, I wouldn’t recommend rosemary tor the indoors. But if you must, the general mix would be good.

[@rocioguarniz5186]

@@onlyplants Thank you for your prompt response! I have the Rosemary plant in a bright south facing windows but my Rosemary is getting crispy and brown so sad :( what can I do to save my Rosemary?

[@trewti]

Hi Sean watching you from the States. What can be substituted for the akadama, burnt rice hulls, dried bamboo and dried twigs?? Sorry, most of these are not available in our garden centers or big box stores. *What we have readily available are: Perlite, vermiculite, horticultural charcoal, worm castings, coco coir bricks and bagged (chips can be found in some pet stores I believe). Also, will regular rice hulls work the same instead of burnt??

[@onlyplants]

Akadama can be substituted by pumice. Burnt rice hull by activated charcoal or fine bits of horticultural charcoal. Unfortunately for dried bambo or twigs I can think of only Perlite to amend for the drainage.

[@onlyplants]

Regular rice hull compacts too much with water, and doesnt contain silica and antimicrobial properties of the burnt rice hull. 😟

[@roory84]

Great video ​ @onlyplants! Do you buffer coco peat and coco chips before adding those to the mix or is washing it enough?

[@onlyplants]

My supplier does rinse them and dry them to remove as much tannin as possible. Its worth to check with your supply if that process is done beforehand. I actually dont know the process firsthand so I may not be qualified to say the best way to rinse and dry them 😅

[@roory84]

@@onlyplants got it. Thank you!

[@rimbablooms]

Do you soak cocopeat to remove tannin first? Or use it right away from the bag?

[@onlyplants]

The supplier soaks the cocopeat 😀

[@christinarosales9626]

Hey Sean - what are your thoughts on pumice as a planting medium ?

[@onlyplants]

Pumice may be good as a soil amendment but its so costly on its own… they are clean to work with and drains fast so theres some positive in that. But they wont hold on to nutrients as well so you may have to fertilize differently

[@ngng9113]

Hi Sean, can I plant snake plant in aroid potting mix? I kept them in my bathroom with very high humidity

[@onlyplants]

I keep mine in aroid potting mix actually, as I tend to overwater things. I also like the look of aroid potting mix on sansevierias

[@archibald6749]

Hello Sean, I live in Bali and I see that many nurserys start and keep their young plants in a mix of sekam bakar and tanah subur, what do you think of it, it seems to be working very well for my own cuttings

[@onlyplants]

Plants can adapt to many types of potting mix but that answer is too general for me to answer. I guess that highly depends on the species and type of soil used. Bali soil is extremely fertile 😀 but we have no access to that here and sometimes soil can be unsustainable as they were taken from the environment and never returned

[@lovegardeningplants]

At what rates do you mix your general potting mix do you have the recipe in parts

[@winlwinoooo1772]

Subtitles do is 👍

[@TheBestOfZoe]

Would syngonium like the airy aroid mix too?

[@onlyplants]

They would but their roots are so fat and robust they will run out of room quickly in an aroid potting mix. If you are growing them out for big and fenestrated leaves aroid may be the way to go

[@blackpinkvipaccessrow2138]

Can we use regulr charcoal instead of horticultural charcoal?

[@onlyplants]

There are two main types of charcoal, one is from charred wood and another is from coal. You dont wanna use the later 😅.

[@beccandriani]

Have you ever used pasir malang? Can we substitute the pumice with that?

[@onlyplants]

Yes. Pasir malang is very heavy and can be rough though. I would imagine it being good for aquarium substrate or for cactii succulent. But not as soil amendments.

[@LifewithLinhL]

Can you use regular rice hulls instead of burnt rice hulls?

[@onlyplants]

Nopee completely different. Rice hull has no antimicrobial properties and can get waterlogged

[@GangstersInParadise]

Hi! Is this still useful for indoor grown aroids?

[@onlyplants]

Yeppp

[@ThePurpleYarnivore]

I searched for the burnt rice hulls and the only suppliers I could find were in Indonesia. Found one on Ebay with free shipping. Will give it a try. Are there substitutes for the burnt rice hulls that do the same thing?

[@jovanessavf164]

I think activated charcoal will achieve the same results. :)

[@onlyplants]

Activated/horticultural charcoal will make great substitute for their fast draining and excellent anti-microbial properties

[@ericamaecabrera9144]

Burnt rice hull in the Philippines we call it carbonize rice hull ☺️

[@donanove]

Hai, for dried twigs, should i use kaliandra or andam? 😊

[@onlyplants]

Yepp those are good substitutes

[@alfantoutanaya2832]

I'm waiting you to make videos about carnivorous plant, especially Nepenthes. 😉😉😉

[@onlyplants]

I only have one nepenthes that survived haha. The other carnivorous plants have died on me. I need to learn!

[@alfantoutanaya2832]

I have some of them, as I learned, they need 0 nutrient either from soil or another way. They got their food only from their trap, also need high humidity. The light requirement is depend on the species, low land species usually need bright indirect sunlight some even direct sunlight. Growing media, usually spaghnum moss mix with perlite, cocopeat mix with rice husk charcoal.

[@endoneswa]

Just wanna share my experience here. I use that, similar to, your epiphytic mix for my peperomia caperata and it's still alive and well now._

[@onlyplants]

😀😀

[@sherrykumar2883]

Thank you for this info. I wish your soils were available to purchase here but perhaps I can replicate them with this information. What is the alocasia at 11:19? It almost looks like a black velvet but the leaves appear shiny.

[@onlyplants]

That would be a colocasia. A moisture loving relative of the alocasia and it likes to be in full sun and swampy conditions.

[@wildlifegardenssydney7492]

Colocasia esculenta 'Black Magic'

[@madmantronixx7998]

Which mix would you recommend for a Neon Pothos Sean? Thank you

[@onlyplants]

General 😀

[@madmantronixx7998]

@@onlyplants thank you and keep up the good work 👍🏻

[@cksee5909]

Which mix will be suited for caladium ? How to make it slight acidic ?

[@onlyplants]

I use my forest floor potting mix which is very porous but I also make sure the mix doesnt get dried out completely. There are things you can add for acidity, none of which Ive tried. But nitrogen is quite rich in acid. Caladiums are quite heavy feeders in my experience.

[@hanyintan5933]

If you use worm casting for Monstera, will worms develop after sometime? Just scared of worms crawling out from the pot.

[@onlyplants]

Nope it shouldnt. Ive not experienced that at all 😀

[@mohznaim7610]

Whats horticultural charcoal? Is it different from activated charcoal?

[@onlyplants]

Not sure if I know the difference 😅 but there are many charcoals, some used for burning etc that we dont want for our plants

[@devbachu7072]

Hi guy good arw tgey good for orchids or anthriums?, my best gardener

[@onlyplants]

Aroid potting mix is. For orchids I actually use full leca or just charcoal as they hate water

[@PlantswithCoffee]

Hello there, I actually made my mix for my anthoriums but i think there is still missing on it like i wanna add alnus compost to it, what do you think if i need to add this compost or not… so here’s my mix: -vermaculite -perlite -bark chips -rice hulls -charred rice hulls I also had the coco cubes at the bottom of the pots when i repot my anthorium..

[@onlyplants]

This depends on many variables… the species, your environment, pot size, and how heavy or often you water. My first guess is that compost may retain water a little bit too much.

[@PlantswithCoffee]

@@onlyplants it make sense, it will be placed in an outside environment where only black screen are there protection against direct sunlight..

[@feimiao]

What's the bamboo stuff in the forest floor mix called.. bamboo shavings?

[@yukiaditya7352]

we call it bamboo humus here.

[@onlyplants]

Looks like they are shavings. But I cant confirm that haha

[@wildlifegardenssydney7492]

bamboo sheaths. In bamboo plants, there are three types of sheaths: the culm sheath (shoot sheath), the rhizome sheath and the leaf sheath.

[@mercantilehousing]

What is the difference between using rice hulls vs burnt rice hulls?

[@onlyplants]

Burnt rice hull is far more porous, but also since its charred, its more sterile and anti-microbial. Rice hull can inhibit fungus/rot and may even pool too much water sometimes.

[@OfGraySkies]

When you say coco peat are you referring to coco coir? Peat moss? A blend?

[@onlyplants]

Yes coco peat is also known as coco coir in the states. Peat moss is not environmentally sustainable but is a good subsitution to coco peat.

[@OfGraySkies]

@@onlyplants yes I bought peat moss before I found out about the environmental impacts and I won’t be buying it again. Coco coir to the rescue!

[@hey.godson]

what's the difference between charcoal and horticultural charcoal?

[@onlyplants]

Horticultural charcoal usually comes from burnt wood, and dont turn to dust/soot. 😀

[@Me-or5zh]

Which one should we use for Alocasia?

[@onlyplants]

Forest floor please. Aroid is ok too

[@Me-or5zh]

@@onlyplants Thank you

[@lovegardeningplants]

What percentages do you mix your general potting soil at?

[@onlyplants]

I have never measured percentage or ratio. I go with feeling when I mix and its slightly different each time 😀 I recommend you do the same

[@lovegardeningplants]

thankyou some much for taking the time i wish you success

[@OfGraySkies]

If only I could provide such beautiful soil mixes for my plants, I’m going to pray my commitment continues and I make more money (currently unemployed, seeking), time and space to similar mixes and truly provide my plants the best home possible ;) I have 40-50 houseplants under grow light in an apartment:/

[@onlyplants]

Its fun to find what is available in your area and hack it in a way that lets different species thrive. Keep experimenting and stay curious!

[@tatjanakeller825]

Schade, dass ich kein englisch verstehe. Hätte gern gewusst aus was Aroid Potting mix besteht!😢

[@onlyplants]

🙈🙈

[@tatjanakeller825]

@@onlyplants 😅

[@rizmi108]

Kenapa ga ada translate ke b Indonesia ?

[@onlyplants]

Karena bahasa Indonesia nya ga kuat 😆😆

[@winlwinoooo1772]

I don't understand but l am myanmar

[@onlyplants]

😀😀

[@francisdizon6999]

Succulents and cacti murderers! ✋🏽 LOL

[@onlyplants]

🙉

[@cedricwu2014]

😂😂

[@onlyplants]

😀