The Rime of the Ancient Gardener

Many plants are fine with tap water, but some of them should not be given a single drop of it to drink if you can avoid it.

The chlorine, fluoride, and calcium and magnesium in tap water can harm certain plants. These plants can then develop yellowing, or spots on their leaves, grow more slowly, and end up with white, chalky deposits on their surrounding soil.

Unfortunately, some of the tips you may hear about boiling water and using filtered water to eliminate this problem are not true. If you haven’t got any rainwater, use distilled water because boiled and filtered water still contain things that will damage tap water sensitive plants.

The major plants and plant varieties that prefer rainwater or distilled water are spider plants, Venus flytraps, and other carnivorous plants, rhododendrons, cordylines, and orchids. There are plants we haven’t covered here, but if you’re not sure about a particular plant do thorough research about it. 

Farewell, farewell! but this I tell, to you our website guest, don’t worry, we’ll be back soon with another minute.