Is this normal?

[Lena]

Well I'm glad everything is okay. Thanks everyone for your help! I will get some kln and get it going. Do you recommend a certain amount? I use one gallon bottles of distilled water. So how much should I put in there? And should I use the solution everytime I water or only once a week? Sometimes I have to water 3 or more times a week since the medium dries quickly and its a tiny amount of root.

Is this the right product? : http://www.planetnatural.com/site/ro...ncentrate.html

[RosieC]

KLN should be used at somewhere arround 1-2 drops per gallon (if I remember correctly, that's what I'm using it at just now).

I use it about once a week on plants that I water more than once a week.

I would also suggest that watering with luke warm water may help. I actually got a noticable result in new root growth when I did that, before I started using the KLN (I do both now).

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Try watering with RO/DI instead of tap water as well.

I know when I use RO/DI on bromeliads (Tillandsias), they look hella better than when I first bought them from the nursery (which obviously didn't use RO/DI but rather straight tap). There's a very noticeable difference with bromeliads when using RO/DI water. And bromeliads are epiphytes too, often sharing the same habitats as orchids here in the New World tropics.

If it works on an epiphyte like bromeliads, why not an epiphytical orchid?

[orchidbingo]

Originally Posted by King_of_orchid_growing:)

Try watering with RO/DI instead of tap water as well.

Lena,

The distilled water you are using is cleaner than RO/DI water so I'm sure you're fine. Distilled water can get awfully expensive unless you have a still.
I used distilled water at one point--I have a still in my lab but I got tired of lugging jugs of water home everyday. Now I just use RO water since we're set up for it at home.

bingo

[Lena]

I buy distilled water for most of my plants, but I don't have to buy too often because I don't have too many orchids..yet I also always water at room temperature, though I know tepid water is best for most plants. I read in many places that reverse osmosis water should never be used for orchids. I'm not sure exactly why.. Do you know? Apparently, some of you use it so it must be okay, but I was just wondering why some places mention it is no good.

The water is only about 89 cents a gallon and sometimes on sale, so I am doing okay there. I just ordered some K-L-N from an online store, so I am waiting for that so I can put it in the water. Do you recommend using it on my other orchids that don't particularly need it?