CPs and Sand

[SirKristoff]

http://www.carnivorousplants.org/seedbank/species/Cephalotus.htm the sand that ceph is in looks exactly like the lapis lustre sand i have.

 

[Finch]

Pfft looks can be deceiving. If you really want to know the composition pulverize the sand into microscopic fragments and feed it through a spectrometer.

I guess what I am trying to say is that it most likely fine, but if you still have doubts don't use it. The exact composition is probably a mixture of many things and unless you know the source you really won't know for sure.

 

[SirKristoff]

Finch: trust me i know that, my mother is a gemologist and constantly freaks out about crap like that. spectrometer sitting downstairs if i really wanted to freak out about it.
but its clearly the same sand, even Barry Rice has the sand on his site.
im trying it on my ceph....man i wish this plant got darker, its seedgrown though so variability i guess :\
maybe once it gets true sunlight outside it will get darker. *hopefully* but on arrival it wasnt even dark when many other peoples were from this source *shrug* oh well :\

 

[Finch]

Finch: trust me i know that, my mother is a gemologist and constantly freaks out about crap like that. spectrometer sitting downstairs if i really wanted to freak out about it.
but its clearly the same sand, even Barry Rice has the sand on his site.
im trying it on my ceph....man i wish this plant got darker, its seedgrown though so variability i guess :\
maybe once it gets true sunlight outside it will get darker. *hopefully* but on arrival it wasnt even dark when many other peoples were from this source *shrug* oh well :\

Wow. Really? I was being sarcastic. If you can actually interpret results from it I would be impressed! I have labs that use them and I hate those things.

And what is with the recommendations to lick the sand? What information could you possibly get from licking it?

"yes, this tastes like sandstone, the taste of which I am familiar with"?

 

[Not a Number]

Well I wouldn't go as far as saying it is the same sand as in Barry Rice's picture. Similar looking but not the same. It appears your sand has a much larger grain and from the close up it has been polished. Most likely through a tumble process in a drum with various grades of abrasive polishes. That's probably why it is called "Lapis Lustre". Sand or stones worn or polished by the action of surf or river current seldom gets a sheen as shown in your close up.

The surface of the grains of horticultural sand I have is dull, like frosted glass. BTW the bag claims the sand has a neutral pH.

 

[Delwin]

I have all along been using these type of lapis sand, either cephs or any other type of cps, they prove to be a good mix.

 

[rattler]

i HIGHLY doubt it was polished in a drum........prolly just some beach sand that was polished from wave action......could be sand from the banks of a large freshwater lake or from the sea side........but someone did ask what is used to polish most stones in a drum and the answer is usually aluminum oxide which is usually whats on sand paper and is actually basically the non gemstone quality sapphires and rubies......which is chemically stable....

 

[SirKristoff]

AFIK lapis lustre is from monterey beach CA...So i washed the heck out of the sand before i used it
i think the reason why the sand in my photo looks larger grain is because the plant in the ICPS website photo is probably a good size larger than mine which is still in a 3" pot