Hello, And here I thought it was common knowledge amongst the group. Sorry about that. "We use crushed granite (the size of a watermelon seed) with horticultural perlite (fines sieved) and 20% or less of a commercial compost with excellent results. Each and anything will germinate in this. Using half granite and half perlite and adding to it 10-20% of compost will give you a great mix." I was not able to find the granite that size at our rock yards however gravel about the same size works the same. Wash only if loaded with clay. The most expensive part of the mix was the large bag of perlite and the bag of compost coming second. In all a fairly inexpensive and easy to make mix. It's the results that are amazing. For my albuca, Alberto suggested, 'Put one third of a mix of perlite + grit + commercial compost + in a pot. Then fill with 2/3 of a mix or granite and coarse perlite or granite or granite and sand. In this plant your A. spiralis. This method gives fabulous results with the most difficult succulents and desert bulbs.' True, my albuca put out 3 flower stalks and is just finishing its bloom. The bulb itself has about doubled in size since putting it in this mix under 10 months ago. Another thing that Alberto mentioned was key, make sure the mix is bone dry when you pot your bulbs in it and then water in well. This mix drains so well, there is no fear of over watering. One more note, if you can't find the granite and end up using gravel, make sure it is not full of limestone. I was able to find granite grit at our local Country Depot which they sell for chicken grit. Another change I've made with all of the plants (indoor potted) is that I no longer use tap water. Our water in Calgary wasn't so bad, I never gave it much thought in fact. The water in Okotoks is well water and extremely high in sediments, and horrible. After moving here I started to notice that most of the plants were doing poorly, we installed a reverse osmosis filter and the plants are loving it. Hope this helps, it's just too good not to be shared. Linda Foulis Okotoks, AB Canada