The Leaf Lady

Hello plant lovers! Today’s blog is a continuation of my last blog about potting mediums and what I’ve learned during my own incredible houseplant journey. When I first started I searched for any helpful material discussing the soil mixes for the plants I was bringing home. Unfortunately, at the time, I wasn’t able to find much useful info. To help all of you budding plant lovers, today I want to discuss the soil mixes and lifelong care needs of some of the common nursery plant genus' and groups you are likely to encounter in your own houseplant journey. Note, a “genus” is the first name in plant identification followed by the “species” which signifies the exact type of plant within the genus. When I refer to a “potting medium” I am talking about any material used to propagate or grow plants. There is also some information at the bottom of this blog about dealing with root rot and humidity as it relates to potting mediums. For rare or endangered plants please do further research in

Hello plant lovers! To keep your houseplant the happiest it can be there are some basic needs you can satisfy. Sunlight and water are obvious needs but planting it in a potting material (“medium”) in which it can thrive is another important aspect. This blog will give you an introduction to different mediums you may run into throughout your houseplant journey. I will be telling you where each of them comes from as well as how and why they are used. There are many organic potting mediums/soil amendments that are made by decomposition or harvested then dried. I wanted to also include inorganic, mineral and clay potting alternatives since these have become popular. Organic Potting Mediums There are many types of moss used for potting around the world but the most common are peat moss and sphagnum moss. Peat moss is an assortment of ground, dried grasses and moss harvested from wetlands in the northern United States and Canada. Plants with fine root systems such as begonias prefer peat mos