Is Tap Water OK?

mkwotsit · Sat Mar 21, 2009 5:36 am

I've bought my mum a bonsai for Mothers Day. The label says it's a 5yr old Ilex.
I'll give her the link to this forum but what I want to know is can I water it with tap water or must it be rain water?
I think they add flouride to our tap water in this region?!

brevill · Sat Mar 21, 2009 6:37 am

Hi Mkwotsit

I live in Cheshire and have used tape water, rain water and bottled water and seems to have very little affect on trees, but I am a novice and others may know better.

Kenshin14435 · Sat Mar 21, 2009 9:06 am

I've used tap water and house water all the time. I still do. The only thing I could say about tap water is to be sure that there isn't too much sulfer, chlorine, or heavy metals in the water. Rust could be bad too. You can check for these things by going to your local gardening store or regular store and look for a water testing kit. They're around 10 dollars or less over here state side. Good Luck and Have fun.

EDIT:
Another place you can look for the water testing kit is a place that sells aquarium supplies. They always have things like these.