This video shows you how much pumice to add to your houseplant soil. How much pumice you put in your soil depends on the type of plants you are planting. Cacti and succulents require more pumice than other types of houseplants.
Hello and welcome to HealthyHouseplants.com, where we teach you all about gardening in the great indoors! Today’s video is sponsored by our Amazon affiliate link, which you’ll find in the description below. You’ll also see links to other videos I mention in this video.
Today, I’m going to talk to you about how much pumice to add to your houseplant soil for planting. I often get this question, so I thought I’d cover it in a video.
Here’s some pumice I use, and you can also find pumice at other locations. Pumice is a type of lava rock that serves as an excellent draining agent for your houseplant soil and roots. Most other soils come with perlite, which you can identify because it easily breaks apart in your hands. Pumice, on the other hand, is much harder and more durable. It’s also slightly larger, creating better drainage for your houseplants, which is crucial for healthy roots. As I’ve mentioned in other videos, you want a little bit of air at the root zone so the roots can breathe since they are living, breathing organisms.
The amount of pumice to add to your houseplant soil depends on a few factors. First, if there’s already pumice in the soil—which is rare, as most soils have perlite instead—you may not need to add extra. However, keep in mind that while perlite breaks down over time, pumice does not. For most houseplants, you should aim for about one-eighth to one-quarter of the soil to be pumice. For example, if you’re using a quarter of the soil, you would mix one part pumice with three parts soil.
If you’re planting something like a succulent, such as a Sansevieria, you’ll want to add even more pumice—up to one-third or even half pumice, depending on the soil’s heaviness. If the soil is heavy, go with more pumice; if it’s lighter, like this Pro-Mix soil, you can use less.
Now, let’s mix the pumice with the soil. Since this soil hasn’t been pre-moistened, I’m filling the cups to account for the air in the dry soil. If it were pre-moistened, I’d match the amount of soil to the pumice level. After adding three cups of soil, mix everything thoroughly. Make sure it’s well blended so you don’t end up with too much pumice in one spot and not enough in another.
As you can see, the mixture has a good balance of pumice, which will provide adequate drainage for most houseplants. However, if I were potting up a Sansevieria, I would add another cup of pumice to ensure even better drainage.
That’s it for today! Thank you for stopping by. Please leave any comments about indoor gardening tutorials you’d like to see. Remember to like, comment, subscribe, and share this video.
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