Thank you Jane. And no, it won't suit them, so have now asked a local soil mix firm, where I will find what I want for these bulbs. In a small country like NZ we don't have the choice like elsewhere. Ina On 27/03/2012 6:31 a.m., Jane McGary wrote: > Ina in New Zealand wrote: >> I have some succulent mix and am wondering if that would be good to >> plant the Tecophilaea bulbs in. > If the "succulent mix" is mostly sand and grit, it should be > suitable. The natural substrate of this species is sand and scree of > volcanic origin (i.e., acidic), and the description of the > rediscovered wild populations suggested to me that it is a snowmelt > plant. I have a lot of them and grew them for many years in a mixture > of coarse sand, ground pumice, and a little humus. Now they're in > pure coarse volcanic-origin sand and gravel with some loam down > below, and they are currently flowering vigorously. I fertilize them > regularly during the growing season. > > Jane McGary > Portland, Oregon, USA > > > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/ >