Rain Water??!

darkchild420191

is it better to use rain water or tap water? i live in the country so we have well water, is that ok use to spray on the leaves for moisture or is it better to use rain water? the water that i usually spary on the bonsai every mirning is the same stuff i water it with. i do the merical grow constant feed all purpose thing mixed with 1 gallon of water. I found over time it leaves like water deposits on the leaves is that from the merical grow? or should i use pure well water to mist the leaves or pure rain water?

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TreeBay

Well, assuming your rainwater isn't polluted (as in heavily laden with sulphuric compound, acid rain stuff from some detroit/allentown smokestack) rainwater is better. It's softer, usually has a slightly acidic pH and often has some marginal nitrogen content from atmospheric electricity.

Bypass the first rain, which washes out most of the pollutants, and start collecting on the second day.

Generally speaking, well water is terrible for plants and probably the last choice. It is heavily laden with dissolved minerals. My municipal water is about 50% well water from time to time, but you never know what kind of batch they are going to mix from month to month, so I just deal with it.

Chlorine isn't great for plants either. There is an inline filter available from ***CHARLEY*** that will filter out a lot of that with activated carbon. Whether it works on chloramines, I don't know.

Measure your water with a pH test kit for pools. If it comes up alkaline, you should probably be using MirAcid and not Miracle Gro (same company, different product). Unless that is, you are growing one of the very few alkali loving plants like.... I don't know... maybe Buttonwood. Everything else likes a neutral to slightly acidic pH.

If any of that isn't clear, please ask again for clarification!

Regards,

Matt

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darkchild420191

ok i dobelive i should do the best for my bonsai (ficus too little) i think i should get him bottled water from now on and for my other plants also, would this be good or way too expencive? i think its like 58 cent a gallon at wal-mart. thank you for the help matt
Daryl

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BrianBay9

While I don't disagree with Matt's reply, I think we're talking about relatively small differences in water sources. Any water that you can drink will be OK for your plants. Hard water will contribute to calcium deposits on your pots and that white residue on the leaves, but since we water by complete flushing from top to bottom, relatively little mineral build up is likely in the soil. Chlorine is not great for any living thing (that's why it's used), but at the amounts present in treated municipal water, it won't harm your plants. I've heard of people using bottled water, even distilled water, but in my opinion that's major overkill. Rainwater is probably better, marginally, but I wouldn't spend extra on bottled water.

As an aside, not all bottled water is alike. Some brands have more minerals and contaminants than your tap water.

Brian

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darkchild420191

what about boiling the well water would that be better for my bonsai and get rid of some of the stuff that causes the water deposits?

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TreeBay

Unfortunately, no. Boiling water will only kill microbes and parasites like our friend E. coli. Those really aren't going to harm your bonsai anyway. Boiling will actually concentrate the dissolved minerals a bit, too. As the pure water is driven off as steam, it leaves the impurities behind.

A distillation process would actually condense and collect that steam and discard the rest.

If you're discouraged by the water deposits, you can either lower the pH to precipitate out some of the solids; or be careful not to wet the leaves; or use a different water source.

The deposits aren't as harmful as they are unsightly, though.

Regards,

Matt

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David Yedwab

unless you have a species of tree that has very specific water quality sensitivity, due to where it is native, most likely, most people safe water is likely OK for your bonsai. Although, I am becoming persuaded that keeping track of PH may be worthwhile.

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TreeBay

Thanks you both for making this point. I was responding to the specific, original question (Q: Which is better: well or rain water?) and perhaps a more general response is in order!

1. The vast majority of growers can grow bonsai that thrive on their usual supply of drinking water, whether that is plain tap water, municipal water, whatever is readily available from the well, spring, lake or creek or comes to the door in bottles.

2. Some species are pickier and prefer softer and/or acidic water, and a few people in poor water quality areas will find those more difficult to grow. We're talking about a minority of plants, like Azalea, Gardenia and some tropicals. If you're having problems it might be worth checking your water or trying "better" water on a few selected specimens.

3. In extreme cases of water hardness or salinity or pH problems: Most municipalities will publish a water quality report periodically (once or twice a year) it lists the actual water sources, the salinity, contaminants and so forth. Water pH can be tested inexpensively using a simple pool pH test kit, usually about $5, or the kind sold for aquarium use. The Federal government has some agricultural offices that will do soil and water testing.

4. Hard water deposits are unsightly, but not in themselves any cause for alarm. They probably bother the grower more than the tree! A seasonal rain, or the annual replacement of leaves on deciduous species will help correct the problem. Pots can be cleaned using a soft "rust eraser," Lime-away (when the trees are not in them) or even Bui's technique posted in the articles section of this website.

Thanks for keeping this on target for everyone!

Regards,

Matt

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darkchild420191

thanks matt for the information it really helps

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