IMHO avoid Miracle Grow anything at all costs. Avoid anything with added fertilizer, you want to control when and how much to use. I do not use perlite, it always eventually winds up on top of the soil (leaving the bottom heavier than you want), discolors, and looks ugly. This is what I do. I start with a good quality, rich organic potting soil; Macenroe's. I don't know how wide spread the brand is, the farm where they make it is about 1 hour drive from here, but I've seen it in Agway. To this I add mixed size grit, from coarse sand up to ~1/4" pebbles. This I get from various sources. Some of it's fishtank gravel, some I sift from bags of traction sand bought at the hardware store (yes, I sit outside on warm days and sift sand! Get rid of the fine stuff, it holds water.), some from 'wild' sources. Then I get to vary the mixture according to the
plants' needs. Soil to drainage material, cacti like ~ 1 1/2:1, aloe 1:1 or 2:1, hoya 3 or 4:1, like that. I recycle the grit from healthy
plants only. By this I mean a strong
growing plant in exhausted soil I will repot, shaking off the dirt a bit without disturbing the roots to much. That dirt I will let get bone dry, wash (OK, ok, I don't really have too much time on my hands, I'm just happily nuts!), the organics will float to the top of the bowl, grit sink to the bottom. I toss the dirt and keep the grit. I do this with
plants that died of too little water, too. Be careful with this, when in doubt toss it all, you don't want to spread anything bad. Anyway, after way too many words; good organic soil with no additives and your own grit mix. Good luck!!!