Best Potting Mix for Succulents?

[Arizona Jeanie]

I've been potting and re-potting some small succulents, Echeveria, Sedum, Sedeveria, other unknown similar hybrids, and larger probable Epiphyllum and Crassula. Some I found had quite a bit of sand mixed in with the potting mix I was removing. This had set up like adobe, actually interfering with drainage and leaving just a small space at the top for roots. Needless to say, the plants were struggling.
So now I'd like to get these guys out of the adobe and into some proper fast-draining succulent mix, but...what would that be? The Miracle Grow "Cactus Palm and Citrus" mix is the easiest for me to access, but it seems to have a lot of wood chips and doesn't look that different from the usual houseplant mix. Can I just add a lot of perlite? How about adding in pea gravel?
I'd appreciate any advice and recommendations!
Thanks

[fooferdoggie]

I like black gold if you can get it. seedums don't seem to mind regular potting soil. but they do fine at least some of them in about anything.

[Arizona Jeanie]

Black Gold Cactus Mix?

[fooferdoggie]

Originally Posted by Arizona Jeanie

Black Gold Cactus Mix?

yes though it can get hard after years too. I have seedums growing in nasty clay soil full of rocks in all kinds of crazy places.

[Arizona Jeanie]

Thanks, Foofer. I'll look for some of that mix, it sounds pretty good. I tried some sedum outdoors in the ground, everything that got enough water to grow was eaten by critters and birds pretty quickly. So now I have a few in more sheltered pots, they do seem less picky than some of the other plants.

[fooferdoggie]

Man never had animals year them but not many animals around. I found they need watered regulatory the first year. I have a few that are more weed they just go crazy sprouting everywhere but it is mostly in crappy soil so its ok.

[estación seca]

The little things you mentioned grow in nature on thin layers of humus, over rocks, soil or as epiphytes. They don't root deeply. Most grow well in very shallow dish-type pots, with a mix of milled peat moss, and perlite, cinders or pumice. Echeverias often grow as cloud forest epiphytes.

Epiphyllums are epiphytes, like most orchids. They need a very loose soil mixture, and repotting every 2-3 years as the medium breaks down. They never need a pot larger than a standard nursery 1 gallon pot, which is a cylinder about 6" / 15 cm wide and tall. Many cascade, and do well in hanging baskets. Others are very upright, and the bunch of vertical stems can be corralled by tying, or with a tomato cage.

Epis should not dry out completely during warm weather, so bark unmixed with other things is usually not good. I like to use 20% potting soil and 80% large particle perlite.

[Ray]

50/50 potting soil and coarse/sharp sand.

[izzibusybee]

I use 60/40 John Innes No. 3 compost (peat free, loam based) and perlite. It's cheap and simple but it's never failed so far.

[estación seca]

We can't get any of the John Innes blends in the US. Most potting soil is partially-ground-up twigs and branches with charcoal powder added to make it look composted.