Water type and P/H for my Orchids

[The Orchidist]

I am using a kangen water machine in my home , that can adjust levels of P>H ... and or acidic water . ranging from 6.0 to 9.8 . It is a reverse ozmosis machine and wondered if anyone else uses one for there Chids and does water quality really make a difference when watering / feeding your plants and at what P/H does an orchid prefer ?. thanks

[MrHappyRotter]

High quality, pure, low TDS water will definitely make a difference. Some people have naturally good tap water, and if you're one, you probably won't see much difference between tap and highly purified water like RO.

As far as pH goes, that really depends on what plants you're growing. I think a lot of orchids prefer slightly acidic water & potting media, but there are also quite a few that do better in more alkaline conditions. A bit of research will be required to figure out which is which.

But overall, as long as you aren't straying too far from neutral pH, the vast majority of your plants will be perfectly happy. And plants are pretty adaptable, so even if you aren't providing ideal pH, they'll be fine.

[Nexogen]

A lot of interesting discussions in OB forum, copy and paste " reverse osmosis " in Search from FORUM MENU.

[bethmarie]

I like RO for my orchids, partly b/c as a virgo I seem to be driven to make everything just a leetle more difficult and partly because I have a few 'sensitives' that need purer water (cuthbertsonii primary hybrids). Plus, I don't have to keep buying de-mineralizers for the humidifier when I use RO.
However, IMO, undoctored RO is too acidic for regular watering. Its pH drops further, to the 4.5 range, when I add fertilizer. I use pH up to adjust and supplement from time to time with cal/mag, since RO is devoid of minerals.
I do have a a couple of plants that get tap water, and to be honest, they seem to be doing just fine so far. According to the latest city water report, our tap is pretty low in TDS and has a pH around 7. I was taught that 6.5 is the range to shoot for with orchids for optimum nutrient absorption.

That's my 2 cents worth. (and that may be all it's worth )

[Ray]

I think that you will find most orchids will do great at a pH in the reange of 5.5-6.5.

There is some debate whether "limestone dwellers" really prefer a higher pH, or just need more calcium and magnesium.

[The Mutant]

I use RO-water, but the pH is quite high, this despite the water being soft, so I'm now experimenting by lowering it a bit (to the levels Ray mentions). So far, I've seen positive results, but it hasn't been long enough time yet to really determine if my chids prefer the more acidic water levels or not.

[HighLite]

Great to hear about PH range. It will be useful for me.

[Nexogen]

Originally Posted by The Mutant

I use RO-water, but the pH is quite high, this despite the water being soft, so I'm now experimenting by lowering it a bit (to the levels Ray mentions). So far, I've seen positive results, but it hasn't been long enough time yet to really determine if my chids prefer the more acidic water levels or not.

Why is pH important?

pH for the Garden

http://extension.cropsci.illinois.ed.../chapter08.pdf

[Ray]

You'll note that both of those links refer to soil pH.

In soil, the pH can effect the cation exchange properties of the clays and fine organics - causing them to trap or release the various nutrient ions, hence their availability to the plants.

As orchid media have little-to-no CEC, if it's in solution, it's available.

[james mickelso]

When I used tap water here in SoCal, my orchids suffered. We have high TDS though pH is around 7.0-7.5. When I started to use RO water from the machine outside the supermarkets and blended it with tap water at 3/1 RO to tap, added Cal/Mag they really started doing much better. And the rescues especially perked up. Then I got some of Ray's seaweed stuff and they "REALLY" perked up.