How to make the perfect substrate for cacti and succulents. Is peat really a cactus killer?

Do I use lapillus or just pumice? Is peat really a cactus-killing devil, as we hear people say? But then why nurserymen cultivate their plants nearly 100% with peat, and their plants don’t die in the greenhouse? The question about materials and elements that end up in compost for cacti and succulents is a limitless one. Firstly because the variables are endless and range from growing regimes, environmental factors, latitude, to plant type (for example, there are differences in substrate requirements between a caudiciform and a cactus). Then, because the same elements, as like the field soil, can vary immensely between them – for example, based on the area where it is picked up: it’s evident that the loam of the Po Valley, where I live, cannot have the same chemical characteristics as that one existing in Bolivia, for example. So, how can we orient among the many elements and materials we can find – some easily, others less – to mix them and make good compost? A first answer, perhaps obvious but reasonable, is to do experience and direct observation. In a word: experimentation. Another one, trivial but overlooked, is knowledge – the knowledge of the single “ingredients” properties that create the substrate and of the individual plant’s needs.

Let’s explore the topic in the following article. (…)

Per proseguire nella lettura dell'articolo Accedi o Abbonati
To continue reading the article LogIn or Subscribe

SECURE PAYMENTS