Water Your Orchids!

[lindasbabies]

I have some questions about watering. Number one is how do I know if I have hard or soft water. Number two is if I have hard water what do I use instead? I know I can’t use distilled because it has nutrients or minerals in it.

---------- Post added at 03:43 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:42 PM ----------

Another question is how often do I fertilize. I am using the MSU fertilizer from repotme.

---------- Post added at 03:44 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:43 PM ----------

Oh, forgot to say I have 3 phals and that’s what I’m referring to

[Roberta]

You should be able to get a water quality report from your water supplier. (Very likely available online) The term "hard water" relates mostly to dissolved calcium in the water - depending on what sort of rocks the water runs over before reaching you, it can leach minerals. Calcium forms a gummy precipitate with soap, so if water is really hard (lots of calcium) it can taste a bit chalky, make it hard to get soap scum off of clothes. It is not unhealthy, and most plants don't have any problem with it. (Phalaenopsis do fine with nearly all ordinary tap water... there are some picky cloud forest orchids that need pure water, but that's not what you are growing) Now... if water is annoyingly "hard" people add water softeners to their homes - which replace the calcium with sodium or potassium. That can make it taste better (and make it feel like you're not getting all the soap off in the shower) ... but especially with sodium, it is bad, bad, bad for plants. So artificially "softened" water don't even think of using on any plants.

If your local water is low in solids... and given where you live, that's very possible... even better for plants, but don't sweat it either way. As for distilled water, not sure where you got the info that it has nutrients in it... it has nothing at all, so minerals (especially calcium and magnesium) need to be added back in to keep plants from becoming deficient. But the short answer for you is, just water with whatever comes out of the tap unless it has gone through a water softener. If it has, get your plant water from the garden hose tap where it would bypass any water softener.

[lindasbabies]

I meant to say distilled has no nutrients or minerals in it. Sorry. I asked because I am using tap water and watering almost daily at this point but the roots at the surface of the medium are looking burnt or very brown so I thought maybe something in the water was doing that. I use MSU fertilizer from repotme and I dissolved it in a gallon of water according to directions and have only fertilized them maybe 3 times in the last 4 months, could that be what’s causing the brown on the roots at the surface?

---------- Post added at 04:25 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:23 PM ----------

I also posted pictures of my phals under my other post” are these phals looking like they are doing okay”

[Roberta]

Found your photos... they are very dark so I can't see what the medium looks like. I would not worry specifically about the brown on the roots, but about root condition in general. If they have not been repotted since you got them, they probably really need it. If they are in moss, it may be broken down - or hard as a rock in the middle, either way suffocating roots. If roots are bad, more watering will make things worse not better, since soggy medium encourages rot - and the plant can't take up the water you're giving it. So I'd suggest, add to your original thread with some better photos. Also, anything that you can tell us about the medium (is it moss or bark?, have you repotted?, etc) will help evaluate what is going on.

In general, the goal is "humid air" around the roots - so fresh medium, with lots of air spaces, flush well and then let dry for a few days. So... looking forward to some photos that would help with a diagnosis.

[lindasbabies]

They are all potted in repotme orchid bark mix with the bark and LECA and sponge stone etc.

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by lindasbabies

They are all potted in repotme orchid bark mix with the bark and LECA and sponge stone etc.

That sounds quite good. What did the roots look like when you repotted? Are you seeing new root growth? I do think that daily watering is too much... Phals need air around their roots, so want to dry out a little (not bone dry) between waterings. So I'd suggest 2-4 days between waterings (depending on humidity, heat, etc.)

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by lindasbabies

I know I can’t use distilled because it has NO nutrients or minerals in it.

Distilled is ok. Just do the monthly weak fertiliser and monthly weak mag-cal treatment and all should be ok. Also "RO" water is ok too.

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by SouthPark

Distilled is ok. Just do the monthly weak fertilise and monthly weak mag-cal treatment and all should be ok. Also "RO" water is ok too.

But why? Phals in particular are quite tolerant of city water unless it is really, really bad (like in some desert areas)... not likely to be the case in Maine.

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by Roberta

But why? Phals in particular are quite tolerant of city water unless it is really, really bad (like in some desert areas)... not likely to be the case in Maine.

Because the comment was regarding usage of distilled water. And the comment reply to that is it is ok to use.

[lindasbabies]

Thank you! I will go to watering less and still once a month fertilizer. I think I’ll stick to tap water. It’s easier.