Potting soil contains a blend of essential nutrients that support plant health and encourage strong growth. The ideal mix depends on the type of plants you’re growing and the climate. Different environments and plant varieties require different nutrient balances to truly flourish. Look for a variety with dense nutrients and a formula that supports water drainage to prevent over saturation.
To make your decision easier, the This Old House Team has reviewed and compared the best potting soils available today. Check out our top picks below.
Top 6 Potting Soils
- Miracle-Gro Indoor Potting Mix: Best For Indoor Plants
- Miracle-Gro Cactus and Palm Potting Mix: Best For Succulents
- Perfect Plants Orchid Potting Mix: Best For Orchids
- Miracle-Gro Seed-Starting Potting Mix: Best Starting Mix
- Burpee Organic Potting Mix: Most Versatile
- Fox Farm Happy Frog Potting Soil: Best Premium
Compare Top Potting Soils
| Product | Size | Intended Plant(s) | Estimated Feeding Time |
|---|---|---|---|
Miracle-Gro Indoor Potting MixCheck Price | 6 quarts | Indoor plants | 6 months |
Miracle-Gro Cactus and Palm Potting MixCheck Price | 8 quarts | Succulents | 6 weeks |
Perfect Plants Orchid Potting MixCheck Price | 4 quarts | Orchids | Not listed |
Miracle-Gro Seed-Starting Potting MixCheck Price | 8 quarts (x2) | Seeds and cuttings | Not listed |
Burpee Organic Potting MixCheck Price | 9 quarts | Indoor and outdoor plants | Up to 3 months |
Fox Farm Happy Frog Potting SoilCheck Price | 12 quarts | Indoor and outdoor plants | Not listed |
Best For Indoor Plants
Miracle-Gro Indoor Potting Mix
Meant for indoor plants, this soil works well in herb gardens and other windowsill pots. Because it doesn’t contain compost or bark, it’s less likely to bring gnats into your home. Additionally, it comes with other plant care supplies, including plant food and leaf shine.
Pros and Cons of Miracle-Gro Indoor Potting Mix
- Comes with bottles of plant food and leaf shine
- Contains no compost or bark to keep gnats away
- Won’t clog the leaf pores with the shine
- Not good for succulents
- Meant only for indoor plants
What People Are Saying About The Miracle-Gro Indoor Potting Mix
Those who left positive reviews for this mix said that it was easy to spread, worked on a variety of plants, and maintained a good level of moisture. However, some customers claimed that it arrived with gnat eggs. Other reviewers refuted this claim, stating that they were prills of nutrients.
Best For Succulents
Miracle-Gro Cactus and Palm Potting Mix
This potting soil has a fast-draining formula to keep cactus, palm, and citrus plants dry. It’s enriched with sand and perlite to help with soil compaction and drainage. With mixed-in Miracle-Gro plant food, your succulents have the best possible chance of thriving.
Pros and Cons of Miracle-Gro Cactus and Palm Potting Mix
- Comes with a separate bottle of succulent food
- Produces deep green foliage
- Holds enough for approximately 15 feedings
- May need to be mixed with perlite because it sometimes stores excess water
- May be difficult to rehydrate after the soil dries
What People Are Saying About The Miracle-Gro Cactus and Palm Potting Mix
Happy customers liked that this mix was good for cacti, came in a large bag, and drained quickly. However, some unhappy reviewers said that the bag came with flies or spiders, while others said that the formula contained too much peat moss.
Best For Orchids
Perfect Plants Orchid Potting Mix
This potting soil is hand-mixed in small batches with charcoal, coconut chips, and other natural ingredients. Striking the right balance between too much and too little moisture, it encourages both water drainage and retention to help the roots of your orchids grow.
Pros and Cons of Perfect Plants Orchid Potting Mix
- Allows for good aeration that doesn’t suffocate roots
- Comes in a resealable bag
- Made from all-natural ingredients
- Comes in a small bag that can only feed a few plants
- Not meant for other plants besides orchids
What People Are Saying About The Perfect Plants Orchid Potting Mix
Customers liked that this mix was made from quality ingredients, saying that it arrived fresh and moist. However, the customers who left negative reviews claimed that it arrived with bugs and was ineffective at holding water.
Best Starting Mix
Miracle-Gro Seed-Starting Potting Mix
Formulated for quick root development, this potting soil mix is an ideal choice for newly-planted seeds and leaf, root, or stem cuttings. The premium seed-starting mix is enriched with plant food, so it’s useful for beginner gardeners who don’t already have food around.
Pros and Cons of Miracle-Gro Seed-Starting Potting Mix
- Enriched with Miracle-Gro plant food
- Comes in two 8-quart bags
- Primarily made with peat moss that provides good aeration for roots
- Meant for use in plant containers
- Not made for plants that are already grown
What People Are Saying About The Miracle-Gro Seed-Starting Potting Mix
Positive reviews said that this soil came in a lightweight bag and had a soft, gentle texture. However, some customers who left negative reviews didn’t like that it contained twigs, sticks, or other large items.
Most Versatile
Burpee Organic Potting Mix
This premium organic potting mixture and soil combination is formulated with a mixture of plant food and coconut coir to control moisture and promote growth. Ideal for those who often forget to feed their plants, it slowly releases nutrients for up to 3 months.
Pros and Cons of Burpee Organic Potting Mix
- Feeds plants for up to 3 months
- Works well in plant boxes or raised beds
- Uses coconut coir to control the moisture
- Can sometimes retain water
- May attract bugs once it’s opened
What People Are Saying About The Burpee Organic Potting Mix
Satisfied customers said that this soil was absorbent, effective with outdoor plants, and kept squirrels away. However, those who weren’t satisfied said that it had an unpleasant odor from all of the natural ingredients.
Best Premium
Fox Farm Happy Frog Potting Soil
This 12-quart bag of potting soil supports a variety of indoor and outdoor plant life. Its high-quality mixture contains beneficial soil microbes and mycorrhizal fungi that aggressively expand your plants’ roots, allowing them to reuptake nutrients more efficiently.
Pros and Cons of Fox Farm Happy Frog Potting Soil
- Helps promote vigorous vegetative growth
- Is ready to use out of the bag
- Is highly recommended for container gardens
- Not available for sale in multiple states, including FL, GA, HI, IN, MO, or SD
- Expensive compared to other potting soil products on the market
What People Are Saying About The Fox Farm Happy Frog Potting Soil
Most customers who reviewed this premium potting soil praised it for its ability to rapidly germinate seeds and nurture healthy, robust plant life in their yards. Critically, some customers stated that while the potting soil effectively promoted the growth of their indoor and outdoor plants, they said the soil attracted excessive numbers of fungus gnats.
Buying Guide for Potting Soils
From ingredients to the amount, there are several elements that separate different varieties of potting soil from each other. Before you choose a mix for your plants, consider the following factors.
Plant
Some soils work for a wide range of plants, but many are formulated for specific plants, such as succulents, orchids, houseplants, and vegetables. While using an all-purpose mix may be sufficient if you have a lot of plants around your home, finding a dedicated mix gives your plants the best chance to grow healthy.
pH Level
Make sure the potting soil you choose has a pH level that’s appropriate for the type of plants you wish to grow. Most plants prefer a soil pH level between 6 to 7, but some plants, such as azaleas, prefer a more acidic pH level of 4.5 to 5.5.
Location
In addition to the species of plant, many potting soil mixes are designed for either indoor or outdoor use. Outdoor soil is heavier and coarser than indoor soil, so it can retain more moisture in the sun and resist harsh weather conditions.
Ingredients
Most potting soil mixes contain peat moss, perlite, or both. Peat moss is absorbent and resistant to decay, while perlite has an open structure that allows water and air to circulate freely for drainage.
Beyond peat moss and perlite, make note of the other ingredients to see if they’re right for your specific plant. For example, if you’re planting seeds, don’t use a mix with large rocks or twigs that could limit growth.
Sterilization
Although most, if not all, potting soil online comes pre-sterilized, it’s important to make sure the soil has killed off any harmful pathogens or weed seeds. Additionally, sterilized potting soil should be free of any small insects.
Moisture Control
The ingredients used to make soil determine how well it retains moisture. For example, peat moss absorbs around 30 times its weight in water, while coconut coir absorbs around nine times its weight. Carefully read a soil’s description to see how well it retains moisture as well as how it eliminates excess moisture.
Amount
To avoid buying too much or too little soil, calculate how much you need for all of the plants in your garden. You can measure the square footage of outdoor areas or count the number of indoor or outdoor pots. Purchase one or more bags to fill these spaces properly.
The Best Plants For Amateur Gardeners
Some plants are trickier to take care of than others. While even beginner gardeners know that food, soil, sunlight, and water are needed to help keep plants alive, some require additional maintenance and care. If you’re new to gardening and unsure what plants are best to help you initially explore your green thumb, choose from our list below.
- Aloe vera
- Basil
- Boston fern
- Cast iron plant
- Corn plant
- Dieffenbachia
- Fiddle leaf fig
- Golden pothos vine
- Guzmania bromeliad
- Hedgehog cactus
- Lucky bamboo
- Madagascar dragon
- Money plant
- Monstera
- Moon orchid
- Norfolk pine
- Peace lily
- Peperomia
- Prayer plant
- Silver torch cactus
- Snake plant
- Spider plant
- ZZ plant
Frequently Asked Questions About Potting Soil
Which is better: potting soil or potting mix?
Neither potting soil nor potting mix is necessarily better than the other. Potting soil and potting mix are simply two different names for the same product.
What is potting soil made out of?
Potting soil can be made from a variety of items that provide nutrients to plants. Some common potting soil ingredients include peat moss, pine bark, perlite, vermiculite, sand, grit, and compost.
What is the best potting mix for beginners?
The best potting mix or potting soil for beginners is any product that contains plant food, so it’s less work for new gardeners or planters who don’t have separate plant food to add to the mixture.
How do you store potting soil?
The bag that contains your potting soil should be kept sealed in a cool, dry place to last the longest. You can tell when your soil has gone bad if it has a rotting smell, mold, or gnats.
How We Selected Potting Soils
To provide our readers with the best product recommendations possible, we rely on several key sources of information to help guide our selection process.
Initial Research: Our research process began by generating a list of potting soils with a significant number of verified-buyer reviews and an average customer review rating of 4-5 stars. We looked at positive and negative reviews alike, focusing on information from both satisfied and critical buyers.
Expert Insights: Through our years of experience, we’ve learned that listening to what others have to say is key to building accurate, well-rounded articles. To complement our in-house expertise, our team looked at reviews from trusted publications and drew insights from reader contributions.
Final Product Selection: We then began paring our list down further by comparing each product’s outstanding aspects and selecting the best-in-class options for a variety of applications.
Why Trust The This Old House Team
This Old House has empowered homeowners and DIY-ers for more than four decades with top-notch home improvement advice in the form of television programs, print media, and digital content.
The This Old House Team focuses on creating in-depth product and service review content. To date, we’ve published over 1,600 reviews on products in the home and garden space, from patio furniture and fence materials to fertilizer spreaders and weed control.
Once we conclude the research and testing phases, we craft a comprehensive, user-friendly article of recommended products and additional information to help our readers make the right purchase.