MySecretIslandGarden said: I live in Florida and started with small cacti that I moved from plastic to clay pots with cacti potting mix purchased at home depot. I knew absolutely nothing about growing them and chose some because I liked how they looked. Many had no name given to them. Some died from root rot. I halted watering my cacti and found they were then doing better. I took to the internet and studied
about cacti and what their needs were. I discovered that I had some mammallaria, opuntia, etc. I then started showing more care when purchasing so I would know better. Some got too big to keep in pots so I put them in my yard in the sandy soil here with pebbles around them. We go through dry spells here and then we can have rain everyday. I was afraid they would die when we get a lot of rain. But, the soil is so sandy that it doesn't take long for the soil to dry out again. Soon, my cacti were producing so many pups that I needed to pot them up.
I have a lot of cacti and succulents now and when they go in the ground they just get my sandy soil. When pottting them its sandy soil, crushed granite that I get at tractor supply (They sell it for chickens) and some perlite. My neighbor dug up his yard to put in a pool, so we asked if we could have some of the sandy soil. I now have a hill of it in my backyard. My cacti and succulents are blooming and reproducing. I regret wasting so much money on the potting mix. But, this is what I have found that works for me in the circumstances my cacti have to live within.
For my other succulents I had been using the cacti potting mix, but then decided to grow some in the pots with the cactus in the mix mentioned above. They went from being cute specimens to growing so much that I have to frequently thin them out.
So to sum up my experience, it depends on the cacti or succulent you are planting. With the variety of plants we are able to acquire from around the world, it's worth taking the time to know where your plant originally came from. Some want full sun, some will burn in full sun. Some want a little more soil in the mix. In general, my succulents and cacti seem to really thrive when crowded in a pot, left in the right location (full or part sun, or bright light with no sun) and the more porous the soil the more water they can take.
I included some pics of some of my collection so you can see in the ground, in the pot, clustered together and close ups of the sandy soil and sandy soil with some of the original potting mix the plant came with added.
There is no magic bullet when there are variables.
Your photos show you live in paradise, so I'm a bit jealous.
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