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Run out of rainwater, can I convert hard water from the tape for my acid garden?

Valerieanne29Valerieanne29 Posts: 2
in Problem solving
Two years ago I planted 20+ new small rhododendrons plus other acid loving plants in my new garden, they have all been doing really well. Despite having no less than 8 full sized water butts I am out of rainwater as it has not rained here for 6 weeks and I have very sandy soil. Does anyone know if you can convert hard tape water to make it tolerable to acid plants for the short term, or do I just have to watch them die?

Posts

  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    I doubt that short-term (hopefully) use of tap water will do any harm at all, and it's certainly better than leaving them to dry out.
    Don't try adding vinegar etc to make water more acid, that's not going to remove the hardness which is the problem.

    As far as I know, the easy way to remove hardness from tap water is to use a reverse osmosis filter (about £40) This removes just about everything, leaving almost pure water containing no hardness, but it's a bit OTT for rhododendrons and the like.

    I've been watering my rohdos/acers etc with tap water and they're ok

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • raisingirlraisingirl Posts: 7,093
    Let it stand for 24 hours with a tea bag in it
    Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon

    “It's still magic even if you know how it's done.” 
  • Nanny BeachNanny Beach Posts: 8,719
    same here, but he rhodos and azaleas get watered with the hose, butts are filled, for the pond and left a couple of days to de-chlorinate.
  • Valerieanne29Valerieanne29 Posts: 2
    Thanks for the responses. I understand that chlorine is not the problem, it's the lime in hard water which will kill acid loving plants. 
    Thank you for the reverse osmosis idea, I had never heard of these and a £40 investment to save £££ of plants seems well worth it.
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    The r/o units are water wasters - for every 10 gallons that goes in, you get about 1 gallon of r/o water (I can't remember exactly) - the other 9 gallons is waste, but can of course be used elsewhere in your garden.
    Tap water won't harm your plants while we're in drought.
    An alternative option is to get some sulphur chips that you can spread around your plants, but I don't do this so can't advise. 
    I do have an r/o unit that I use for my blueberries - the waste water tops up my fish pond. This is the unit I use.
    As I mentioned previously I use tap water with no ill effects for rhodos/acers etc

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
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