Can I make my own soilless mix?

Yes. A workable base is two parts coir, one part perlite, one part bark, adjusted for the plant. The hard part to reproduce at home is consistent screening.

Supplies for gardening with plants on soil

What You Need To Know About Soilless Potting Mix

January 31, 2024

What Canadian growers should know about soilless mix. Soilless mix sold in Canada is regulated under CFIA's plants protection program. Imported substrates crossing the US-Canada border are heat-treated to kill pest organisms, which also destroys the beneficial mycorrhizal communities a fresh substrate can carry. Canadian-bagged mix from a Canadian warehouse avoids that step, so the product you open is biologically fresher than imported equivalents. Veryplants formulates and bags in Canada, then ships from a Canadian fulfillment partner in 2-5 business days, no border treatment in the path.

Storage in Canadian conditions also matters. Indoor heating from November to March drops home RH to 20-30%, well below the 40-60% the substrate components were designed for. A sealed mix bag holds its moisture profile for ~12 months; once open, transfer the unused portion to a sealed bin to prevent the peat and bark from desiccating during heating season. CAD pricing at checkout, free shipping over CAD $100 on veryplants.ca.

Quick answer

A soilless mix is a substrate built entirely from screened components — bark, coir, perlite, pumice and biochar — with no garden soil in it at all. It drains faster than soil, weighs a fraction as much, carries no soil-borne pests, and holds its structure for 12 to 18 months in the pot.

What actually goes in

Two jobs have to be balanced at once: hold enough water for the plant to drink, and keep enough air for the roots to breathe. Every component is there to serve one side of that trade.

Holds the water — coco coir and coco chips. Renewable, and unlike peat they rewet easily once they have dried out.
Holds the air — perlite and pumice. Rigid and permanently porous, so the mix cannot settle into a plug.
Holds the shape — bark and biochar. The slow-decaying skeleton that keeps everything else from collapsing.

Worth knowing: screening is the part nobody advertises. Consistent particle size is what makes drainage predictable from one bag to the next, and it is the main reason a professional blend behaves differently from the same ingredients mixed at home.

Which mix for which plant

Plant group	What it needs	Mix
Aroids & tropicals	Chunky and airy, never wet for long after watering	Aroid Mix
Cacti & succulents	Roughly half hard mineral, drains in seconds	Succulent & Cactus Mix
Orchids	Bark-dominant with almost no fine material	Orchid Mix
Flowering houseplants	Moisture-holding but still free-draining	Aroid Mix

Skip the mixing bucket — three blends, ready to use: pre-moistened, screened to a consistent particle size and free of fertiliser, so you feed on your own schedule rather than the manufacturer’s.

Using it properly

Three habits separate a mix that performs from one that disappoints.

Pre-moisten before potting. A dry mix repels water and channels it straight down the sides of the pot. Dampen it first and it wets evenly.
Water in hard the first time. Water until it runs freely from the bottom. That settles the mix around the root ball and collapses the large voids.
Let it dry down, but not out. Wait until the top two or three inches are dry before the next drink, and do not let the whole pot go bone dry unless the plant is a succulent.

Common questions

What is a soilless potting mix made of?

Coco coir or coco chips for moisture, perlite and pumice for drainage, bark and biochar for structure, and in the Aroid blend a mycorrhizae carrier. No soil of any kind.

Does soilless mix contain nutrients?

Very little, and that is deliberate. Molly’s mixes carry no commercial fertiliser, so you feed with a balanced houseplant food at half strength every four to six weeks in the growing season and control the dose yourself.

Can I make my own?

Yes. A workable base is two parts coir, one part perlite, one part bark, adjusted for the plant: more bark and perlite for orchids and aroids, more coir for moisture lovers. The hard part to reproduce at home is consistent screening.

How do I water plants in soilless mix?

Thoroughly, until water runs from the bottom, then let the top inch dry before the next one. Because it drains faster than soil, you may water slightly more often, but each watering does more work.