A person’s grave has immense emotional significance. It is a memorial, a place of practiced remembrance and inner dialogue. Which is why most bereaved attach such importance to a dignified and well-groomed appearance of the graveside.
They affectionally plant and maintain the graveside and many of them take great comfort in their regular visits to the grave, the almost ritual walk to the water pump or tap, lighting a candle or chatting at the cemetery gate for a little while.

Decorative overall effect
Often, the focus of graveside maintenance is not so much on the plants on the grave themselves but on the spaces between them. People get particularly uncomfortable when there are weeds. Most graveside visitors want the soil cover to be free of weeds, finely structured with a velvety black colour that highlights the decorative graveside planting. This is why they normally use special-purpose graveside soil. But not every soil mix is the same.

Guaranteed weed-free
The Gütegemeinschaft Substrate für Pflanzen e.V. (GGS) recommends that consumers choose products that carry the RAL quality mark. RAL-certified substrates are subject to continuous quality inspections carried out by independent labs that analyse the products for the absence of weeds and plant-damaging substances, among other criteria.

Quality-certified substrates don’t just guarantee an aesthetically appealing appearance. A sophisticated combination of high-quality constituents and additives creates optimum growing conditions for graveside plantings. The certification criteria that are applied to quality-certified soil mixes include, for instance, lasting structure stability and a pH value that encourages plant growth.

Less frequent watering required
One of the most important quality criteria for RAL-certified soil mixes is a well-balanced holding capacity for water and nutrients. This feature is especially important for graveside plantings – not just since the recent dry spells – because most people don’t get to water the plantings every day.
This is why additives such as clay, coco pith or water storage granules are used in the substrate to enhance the water holding capacity. Wetting agents are used to facilitate water absorption in the event that the substrate is completely dry after a longer period of not being watered.
Finally, certified soil mixes contain slow-release fertilizer for a lasting wealth of flowers and intensely green leaves as the fertilizer provides the graveside plants with all the nutrients they need for several weeks. This is how quality-certified soil mixes make graveside maintenance easier and contribute to a dignified, aesthetically appealing graveside design.

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