How important is the water I use on my orchids and how can I maximize tapwater?

[Greg Oldacre]

Originally Posted by Orchid Whisperer

Hi Greg, welcome to OB.

Some orchids are more forgiving than others regarding water quality. What kinds are you growing?

You should be able to find out a lot about your water from your local water utility. They should have a water quality report (testing is required by law), it may be available online. If you have access to the right equipment, you can measure some parameters yourself.

The most important question is, what is the total dissolved solids (TDS), expressed in ppm or mg/L? If the report does not give TDS, they should give electrical conductivity (EC), that can be expressed in different units. As a science teacher, I know you know how important the units can be. TDS, measured from EC, should be less than 200 ppm, lower is better.

pH is also important, water departments typically adjust to keep it near 7 or slightly higher. pH around 6 is usually good, pH can be reduced with a few drops of vinegar or lemon juice.

Alkalinity is also a good number to know.

Google the Saint Augustine Orchid Society, there are articles posted on their website that give more information on water quality.

Thanks everyone for the advice. I am going to start with my utility district.

---------- Post added at 11:51 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:50 AM ----------

Originally Posted by jmmehler

Hope you can read the attached

Thanks very much- Greg

---------- Post added at 11:53 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:51 AM ----------

I have a bunch of Cattleyas and 10 Vandas