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10 Best Soils for Indoor Plants in 2024 – Reviews & Top Picks

Indoor Cactus Soil

Indoor Cactus Soil

Whether you’re growing plants indoors or outdoors, you will need some kind of potting soil for their growth. Every topsoil is different and not all topsoils are created equal. So, what type of soil do you use for your indoor plants?

Which brands have the best potting soil mixes? And which ones can give your plants a balanced number of nutrients to ensure growth? We’ve rounded up some of the best soil to use for indoor plants and we will cover them in this post, along with reviews of each one.

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A Glance at Our Winners in 2024

Rating Image Product Details
Best Overall
Winner
Good Dirt Indoor Potting Soil Mix Good Dirt Indoor Potting Soil Mix
  • Contains peat moss
  • Promotes soil aeration
  • Sustainable
  • Best Value
    Second place
    Miracle-Gro Moisture Control Potting Mix Miracle-Gro Moisture Control Potting Mix
  • Solid brand
  • Has coco coir
  • Good for moisture retention
  • Premium Choice
    Third place
    Espoma Organic Potting Soup Mix Espoma Organic Potting Soup Mix
  • No additives
  • Great reviews
  • Promotes healthy roots
  • PittMoss Plentiful Organic Potting Blend PittMoss Plentiful Organic Potting Blend
  • Promotes aeration
  • 100% organic
  • Good for veggies and fruits
  • Mountain Valley Seed Company Minute Soil Expanding Coir Mountain Valley Seed Company Minute Soil Expanding Coir
  • Expands with water
  • Has coco coir
  • Has peat moss
  • The 10 Best Soils for Indoor Plants

    1. Good Dirt Indoor Potting Soil Mix – Best Overall

    Good Dirt Indoor Potting Soil Mix

    Good Dirt Indoor Potting Soil Mix is the best overall soil for indoor plants. It’s organic and contains plant probiotics to promote root health. The soil mix also has partially petrified, sustainably harvested peat moss. It’s more environmentally friendly than other options on the market, and it’s not as expensive as you may assume.

    The mix is specially formulated for indoor plants and is an excellent choice for anyone looking for a natural, organic mix that is free from chemicals and GMOs. The Good Dirt indoor mix is also safe for children and pets as it does not contain toxic products.

    It has partially petrified peat moss taken from healthy peat bogs to promote healthy drainage levels and good soil aeration.

    Pros
    • Contains peat moss
    • Promotes soil aeration
    • Sustainable
    Cons
    • Pricey

    2. Miracle-Gro Moisture Control Potting Mix – Best Value

    Miracle-Gro Moisture Control Potting Mix

    Miracle-Gro’s Miracle-Gro mix has both sphagnum peat and coir in its formula. The blend was created to control moisture levels within plant soil. The formula absorbs up to one-third more moisture than conventional potting soil without these ingredients. It’s the best soil for indoor plants for the money.

    This means that your plants will have a higher overall moisture content. It can sometimes be difficult to keep your indoor plants hydrated, especially when you are often away from home. A moisture control potting mixture can be a good option if you struggle with moisture issues and it can provide food for your plans for up to five to six months.

    Pros
    • Solid brand
    • Has coco coir
    • Good for moisture retention
    Cons
    • Could use more nutrients

    3. Espoma Organic Potting Soup Mix – Premium Choice

    Espoma Organic Potting Soil Mix

    Espoma’s popular organic potting mix is a good choice for those looking for an organic soil mix that’s affordable and effective. It’s perfect for both indoor and outdoor plants. This mix can help you reduce water consumption and promote healthier roots.

    This mix also contains perlite and humus, which provide additional nutrient-rich benefits. It’s organic, so it doesn’t have any synthetic additives, chemicals, or pesticides.

    Pros
    • No additives
    • Great reviews
    • Promotes healthy roots
    Cons
    • Not specifically for indoor plants

    4. PittMoss Plentiful Organic Potting Blend

    PittMoss Plentiful Organic Potting Blend

    This potting soil is mainly made from recycled paper products. It is lighter than other soil mixes and doesn’t produce as much soil dust as others. The mix is also rich in carbon, which promotes healthy soil biology, aeration, and helps plants grow and get the nutrition that they need from it.

    Additionally, it requires less fertilizer, so you can save time and money with your indoor plants. This potting soil can be used to grow vegetables and indoor plants, but it can also be used in your outdoor garden as well. It’s also versatile, so you can use it for seeding grass or starting seeds.

    Pros
    • Promotes aeration
    • 100% organic
    • Good for veggies and fruits
    Cons
    • May need fertilizer
    • Pricey

    5. Mountain Valley Seed Company Minute Soil Expanding Coir

    Mountain Valley Seed Company Minute Soil Expanding Coir

    Here is a dehydrated potting mixture that is compact and easier than bags of potting dirt. It’s OMRI-listed and made from 100% pure coco coir. This makes it an excellent choice for gardeners who want to reduce the use of peat moss or those who prefer to make their own fertilizer.

    The dehydrated mix is less bulky than regular soil and can be stored indoors in tight areas. You also can use it for raised beds to improve root health and soil aeration.

    Pros
    • Expands with water
    • Has coco coir
    • Has peat moss
    Cons
    • Could use more nutrients

    6.  Miracle-Gro Nature’s Care Organic Garden Soil

    Miracle-Gro Nature’s Care Organic Garden Soil

    This organic formula includes plant food for vegetables or flowers that lasts approximately two months. This mix can be used with many plants, as it’s an all-purpose mix. So, this means that you can use it for both flowers and fruits, as well as vegetables that must be grown outdoors.

    It’s an OMRI-listed organic mix and contains coir, bone meal, alfalfa, and protein-rich earthworm castings. So, if you’re growing indoor plants that require a longer-lasting source of nutrients, here’s one to consider.

    Pros
    • OMRI listed
    • Has alfalfa and bone meal
    • Contains earthworm castings
    Cons
    • Expensive

    8. Orchid Potting Bark

    Orchid Potting Bark

    Although orchids can be beautiful, they can be a bit difficult to grow, to say the least. And if you want to grow healthy orchids, you’ll need an orchid potting mixture for the task. Since orchids are a popular choice for indoor house plants, we decided to include this mix in our review.

    This orchid mix is a tad smaller than other mixes, but just as good. The bark chips are small enough to fit around the roots of your orchid and into your pot. This orchid bark is made from organic, sustainable bark taken from healthy Douglas fir trees. And though it’s absorbent, it allows for plenty of oxygen to reach orchid roots.

    Pros
    • Pine bark
    • Good for root oxygen support
    Cons
    • Few nutrients
    • May be hard to find

    9. Hoffman Seed Starter Mix

    Hoffman Seed Starter Mix

    This blend by Hoffman contains Canadian sphagnum moss which is more sustainable than peat moss from other sources. Note that this mix is best for seeds only, and you will need to transfer your plans to another soil mixture as they sprout.

    So, if you are new to indoor plants and you need a great soil mix for germination, here is one to consider. The mixture is light and retains moisture well, making it the best potting soil to start seeds. The mixture also contains vermiculite, which is a soil amendment that helps with moisture retention. It simply expands upon contact with water to help the soil stay moist longer.

    Pros
    • Sustainable
    • Moisture retention abilities
    Cons
    • Costly

    10. Wonder Soil Organic Potting Soil

    Wonder Soil Organic Potting Soil

    This nutrient-rich potting soil will work wonderfully with your indoor plants as well as any outdoor plants that you may have. It’s a dry compressed coir mix that has an immense amount of kelp, mycorrhizae, worm castings, and perlite.

    It’s also 100% organic and it comes in a huge bag. It is vacuum-sealed so that you can get more for your buck. This pre-mixed soil is ready to go and it has excellent water retention capabilities for those thirsty plants that never seem to get enough moisture.

    It’s safe for children and pets, as it contains no chemical additives or toxic ingredients. If you want a mix that works and is made of natural ingredients, here is one to consider.

    Pros
    • Natural ingredients
    • Has worm castings
    • Full of nutrients
    • No additives or toxins
    Cons
    • Expensive

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    Wrapping Things Up

    So, as you can see, there are no shortages when it comes to good plant mixes for those indoor house plants. And in our review, we found that the Good Dirt Indoor Potting Soil Mix is the best overall in terms of value and price point. And in second place we have the Espoma Organic Potting Soup Mix which comes from a well-known brand and works for a variety of plants.

    And in third place, we have the Miracle-Gro Moisture Control Potting Mix, which is known for its affordability and effectiveness. And in fourth place, we added PittMoss Plentiful Organic Potting Blend, which is an all-natural soil blend that seems to be a popular pick from many gardeners.

    Lastly, in 5th place we have Sill Organic Potting Mix, another organic base soil mix that has excellent moisture retention properties, though it’s a tad more expensive.

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    Featured Image Credit: Cem Selvi, Shutterstock

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