Mixing compost for succulents

How to do it

1. 1Start from the principle, not a recipe: the mix has to let water through in seconds and hold almost nothing back. A succulent dies of a wet root, never of a hungry one.
2. 2Aim for roughly half mineral grit and half organic material — sharp horticultural grit, perlite or pumice with a peat-free multipurpose or a loam-based John Innes No. 2. Half grit looks excessive in the bag and is about right in the pot.
3. 3Use grit, not sand. Builder's sand and play sand have fine particles that fill the gaps and do the opposite of what you want.
4. 4Top-dress with 1-2cm of gravel or grit. It keeps the crown and lower leaves off wet compost, which is where rot starts, and it stops the surface caking.
5. 5Choose a pot wider than deep, in terracotta if you water generously and plastic if you forget — the clay does half the drying for you.
6. 6Skip the water-retaining granules and the moisture-control composts entirely, however good they are for everything else.