Question
Darlene,

Thank you for your answer on what potting medium to use for my rice cactus.I live in a small town and all the play sand I can find has been colored blue.I don't know how good that would be for the young plants.Is there anything else like maybe adding perlite to the African violet mix?

Answer
Jelinda,

I have never seen playsand at Lowes, Menards or Home Depot that is colored. It is normally natural tan or brown sand with no coloring. It may also be called builders sand. It comes in a 25 pound bag usually in the lumber area. You might be able to find white sandblasting sand in an automotive store or go to a large body shop and ask if you could buy a small bag of sandblasting sand from them. Or you might look for kitty litter sand, I have never tried that. Perlite would work for drainage while the plants are small but when they get larger the sand in the soil stabilizes the roots and base of the plant as the plant gets more top heavy. Perlite will not do that and your plants won't be as stable in their pots. If you prefer perlite go ahead, I do not like the looks of the little white pellets that float to the top of the soil. Brown natural sand is more natural. You should use perlite in a ratio of two parts potting soil to one part perlite.   Good luck!

Darlene