Sun Gro Horticulture 1410602.Q08P Black Gold Cactus Mix (8 qt) (2)

The soil is very gritty which is actually an amazing thing because this allows the plants roots to breath and grow! I was using miracle grow succulent soil mix before and I've had no luck, my succulents always suffer and the mix doesn't dry very quickly at all which is why my plants tend to wrinkle up.In the picture, to the right is Black Gold and the left is miracle Grow, you can see the difference really easily in texture.I'll be updating this review in a few weeks to write about how my plants have been holding up with the new soil!

I love Black gold cactus and succulent mix. However I am very careful where I order mine from because depending on what area it comes from the formula may vary big time. I order mine from a place that ships from the west coast, the formula is always consistent. I am very disappointed with the formula sold for the East coast. It's so full of bark and there is no pumice only Perlite, not to mention it takes forever to dry out. I bought two bags at the beginning of the season from my local green house. The bags weighed a ton, I was so annoyed to see nothing but soaking wet bark chips and few bits of perlite. I learned from a Facebook plant group about the difference in soil by region, and it is true.

I just purchased this cactus mix to pot up some new succulents I just purchased. I wanted to try a better potting mix since my last succulent mix had some peat moss and it caused issues when plants got too dry, water would not run through, and for some held too much water in the summer months.This mix looked great in the description and cheaper than other non peat options. However, I was very surprised and disappointed when it arrived today and clearly noted sphagnum peat moss as an ingredient. I double checked the listing to make sure I didn't mix products up and sure enough, the ingredients must have changed.Seemed like a good value until I received it. It is being returned because I can buy much cheaper "succulent mixes" with peat moss, but it's not a good addititive for most succulents and especially cacti.

Updated review - For some reason this company decided to change the formula. It is now full of very large pieces of bark and organic particles and unfit for succulent plantings. I am not at all happy with this formula change and will be returning the 3 bags I just purchased.This is good succulent and cactus mix. However, as with all bagged succulent mixes, this has to amended with additional amounts of perlite, vermiculite, and pumice to get optimum drainage properties. It works for me. This is WAYYYYY overpriced here!

This is a dishonest sale. I purchased the first time and received a mix with pumice. The second time it was perlite.If there is not an option to select which one you'd like, then what you are purchasing should be CLEARLY stated.Perlite floats to the top of the pot rather than providing quality drainage. I don't want to pay $15 for perlite mixes and wait for shipping when I can pick up a bag of black gold sun gro with perlite for $5.99 in local stores.

I want to give it 5 starts but this soil can be inconsistent sometimes. I've ordered 3 bags now, the first was great, the second was damp but alright, the third had fungus gnat larvae in it and was damp. I ordered the second and third together so maybe they were stored wrong, they were both sealed tight though. I would inspect the soil very well before using and I also recommend adding more pumice but that's just my preference. I was able to kill the larvae before using it but that's a lot of work and still leaves some risk. Make the product more constant (use better storage?) And this would be a fantastic soil.

Finally a potting soil that isn't too dense and heavy for my snake plant. I just repotted it with this soil and it allows the roots to dry out in between waterings. I'm amazed at the difference between this and my old soil that seemed wet even after a couple of months. With this soil, I can water my plant once a month in the summer without worrying about rotting the roots.

So frustrating that I’ve purchased 3 bags of this on separate occasions. The first bag was the cactus mix, absolutely perfect. It’s gritty, airy, and doesn’t hold moisture in. The 2nd bag was the mix and I didn’t realize it until I transplanted a number of plants. I hate this mix. It’s absolutely moisture retaining. The 3rd bag which arrived today, was also a mix.The listing is for the cactus soil but the sellers will send you a mix so make sure you pay attention. The cactus soil is perfect, I repeat the cactus only soil is perfection.. but the cactus and succulent mix is trash. I’m sending the 3rd bag back, as there’s no way in hell I’m using it.There’s no way gnats can survive in this cactus soil bc it dries exceptionally well while giving the plants what they need. I just use a fertilizer or worm castings to feed, I don’t do any other amendments.