My grandma's orchid nearly died because of my tap water habit

Last spring I kept watering my Phalaenopsis with straight tap water from the kitchen sink in Portland. After about 3 months the leaves went yellow and the roots looked slimy and gross. I figured it was overwatering at first but a guy at the local garden club told me Portland water has chloramine in it that builds up and burns orchid roots. He showed me how to let the water sit out for 24 hours or use distilled instead. Three weeks after switching to distilled water I saw new roots popping out from the base. Has anyone else had trouble with city water killing their indoor plants?

2 comments

2 Comments

caseyw1215d ago

Did you test the tap water or just assume the chloramine did it?

seth_green8515d ago

Well the real issue is whether the pipes in between added anything worse than the chloramine itself.