Hoya and Aroid Potting Mix - DIY Chunky Potting Mix That Works

Make your own chunky potting mix for your hoya and aroid plants. Plants love this tried and tested DIY homemade potting mix.

This is the potting mix recipe I use for most all my hoyas and aroid houseplants. That means this homemade potting mix will work for hoyas, pothos, philodendrons, ZZ plants, alocasias, arrowhead vines and more.

Tried and Tested Hoya and Aroid Potting Mix

I have nearly 100 hoyas and aroid plants growing in our home. And this potting mix is a tried and tested formula.

See all the new leaves on this Moonlight Philodendron thanks to a good potting mix.

All of the ingredients are easy to buy. Plus, you can tailor this homemade potting mix recipe to your own environment. This is especially true if you live in a climate with unique humidity levels.

Why make your own chunky potting mix?

I started making my own potting mix as an experiment. Mostly because I like figuring out this stuff. While you can find various suggestions online, this combination makes my plants happy and healthy.

Compared to buying a special potting soil formulation, it's a lot more cost effective to make your own hoya and aroid potting mix. While it is convenient to buy a premixed bag, the cost can can add up when repotting many or large plants.

What are Benefits to Using a Hoya and Aroid Potting Mix

When it comes to plant care, using a good potting mix is crucial. Once you get your plants into the right potting mix, it can be a breeze to take care of plants.

Specifically, it's much easier to give your plants the appropriate amount of water when they are in the right potting mix. Healthy root development also occurs in the appropriate potting mix.

Hoya Potting Mix

What is the best potting mix for hoya plants? Hoyas need a potting mix that is chunky, loose, and well-draining.

In their natural environment, hoyas mostly grow as epiphytes. In other words, they usually grow on another plant, such as the bark or branches of a tree.

Hoya roots need to be able to breathe. Moreover, they do not like being waterlogged. A regular houseplant potting mix retains too much moisture and will keep hoya roots too wet.

Hoyas also tend to have pretty shallow root systems. As such, they do not need deep pots. Excess potting mix may stay damp too long and damage the roots.

Read more about Hoyas and how I care for my Hoya Krimson Queen.

Aroid Potting Mix Recipe

What is the best potting mix for aroid plants? Aroids need a potting mix that is chunky, airy and well-draining.

In their natural environment, aroids grow throughout the forest floors. They need a coarse potting mix to allow for the roots to grow and develop. A coarse mix also keeps the roots from getting waterlogged.

This potting mix helps my Raven ZZ produce new growth.

My Homemade Chunky Potting Mix Recipe for Hoyas and Aroids

I use this potting mix recipe for both my hoyas and aroids.

• 2 Parts Miracle-Gro Tropical Potting Mix
• 1 Part Orchiata Orchid Bark
• 1 Part Pumice
• ½ Part Coconut Coir

Simply mix it all together. You can make as much or as little of this potting mix as you would like. For ease, use 1 part = 1 cup.

I have linked to Amazon for all the soil and amendments that are easy to buy and priced well on Amazon and/or are harder to find in person. However, I get the coconut coir at Lowe's since Amazon has a big markup on it.

Can I use Aroid mix for Hoya?

Yes! This is the potting mix that I use for both my hoyas and aroid plants.

If you want to be more precise, Hoyas can generally handle chunkier soil. For example, you can use either more or larger orchard bark and pumice.

However, the chunkier the soil, the more frequently you will need to water the plants. Since I like to keep my plants on a similar watering schedule so I use the same potting mix recipe.

Size Up the Soil Amendments for Larger Plants

Different sized plants will need different sized soil amendments. The recipe ratio remains the same. The Miracle-Gro potting mix and the coconut coir will remain the same.

Plants that are in 6-inch pots or smaller

The Amazon links above work for plants in pots that are 6'' or smaller. Generally this is the size of plants you can buy at stores.

For the Orchiata orchard bark, I use the precision size or classic size.

• Precision is 3-6mm (⅛''-¼'')
• Classic is 6-9mm (¼''-⅜'')

For the pumice, I use mini pumice that is ⅛''.

Plants that are in pots larger than 6-inches

Larger plants with more developed root systems can handle chunkier soil. For these larger plants, use the following:

• Max Pumice (⅜'')
• Orchiata Power 9-12mm (⅜''-½'')

Chunky Homemade Potting Mix

There are other suggestions that you can add to your own soil mix. Worm casing, perlite, and lava rocks are a few other considerations.

Have you used those before? What have you found works for your plants? I'd love to hear.

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Chunky Potting Mix - Hoya and Aroid Houseplants

Houseplants love this potting mix recipe! Works for hoyas and aroids, including pothos, philodendrons, zz plants, monsteras, arrowhead plants, and many more. This chunky soil mix will encourage healthy root development.

Prep Time0 minutes mins

Active Time2 minutes mins

Prep Time: 0 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 2 minutes minutes

Yield: 4 cups

Ingredients

• 2 Parts Miracle-Gro Tropical Potting Mix
• 1 Part Orchiata Orchid Bark
• 1 Part Pumice
• ½ Part Coconut Coir

Instructions

• Mix everything together.
• Use for houseplants.

Notes

For pots smaller than 6'' use:

• precision or classic Orchiata bark
• mini pumice stones

 

For pots larger than 6''' use:

• power Orchiata bark
• max pumice stones

 

For ease, use 1 part = 1 cup.