Potting Soil Recipe for Woody Plants and Perennials

This long-lasting mixture is the perfect medium for long-term plants

By Rita Randolph Fine Gardening - Issue 125

This video is only available to Fine Gardening members

This video is available online for the first time ever exclusively for All Access members. Sign up for a free trial to access our entire collection of videos, articles, and plant records.

Start Your Free Trial

Most Popular

The Recipe
1 part peat moss
1 part composted bark
1 part compost
1 part sand
1 part perlite

If the mix clumps together and the compost you use is heavy, add more perlite to ensure good drainage. Use extra compost or bark when growing more mature plants, but don’t make it too rich for young plants—it could damage their delicate roots and stems.

This article is only available to Fine Gardening members

Get our latest tips, how-to articles, and instructional videos sent to your inbox.

View Comments

Comments

Log in or become a member to post a comment on this article.

Start Your FREE Trial Log in

The Latest

Collection

July Regional Garden To-Do Lists

See what to do in the garden in your region in July!

Podcast: Let's Argue About Plants

Episode 42: Plants We Wish We’d Never Planted

In a perfect world, every plant we purchase would be well-behaved, pest-free, and a show-stopper 12 months a year. This is not a perfect world. Despite our best intentions, sometimes…

Garden Photo of the Day

Making a Garden for Pet Turtles

Melissa McClelland sent in some beautiful photos of her garden recently, which we shared on the GPOD, and then she mentioned in passing that she had a special section of…

Garden Photo of the Day

A Year in a Garden

Today we’re visiting Dale Dailey’s garden. Spring came late this year to central Michigan, but our gardens enjoyed the cool, wet weather. This is a photo from mid-April that shows…