Distilled water?

[jammer]

My striped dracaena is said to need distilled water. Can i boil and
cool water and use it? This is kind of an emergency as the leaves have
to be cut off now as it is. I want to repot it but have no water. Can
i boil and cool water and use that?
I thank you.
·.·´¨ ¨)) -:¦:-
¸.·´ .·´¨¨))
jammer
((¸¸.·´ ..·´
-:¦:- ((¸¸

[B & J]

"jammer" > wrote in message
...
> My striped dracaena is said to need distilled water. Can i boil and
> cool water and use it? This is kind of an emergency as the leaves have
> to be cut off now as it is. I want to repot it but have no water. Can
> i boil and cool water and use that?
> I thank you.
> ·.·´¨ ¨)) -:¦:-
> ¸.·´ .·´¨¨))
> jammer
> ((¸¸.·´ ..·´
> -:¦:- ((¸¸
>
No, boiled water is not the same as distilled water. Distilled water has the
mineral contents removed, and ordinarily that is done by boiling and
collecting the condensed steam. If you don't have commercial distilled
water, use rain water of melted snow. I use rain water on my potted house
plants and seedlings with good results.

John

[jammer]

On Mon, 3 Mar 2003 23:54:26 -0600, "B & J" >
wrote:

>No

*sigh*........ok, thank you.
·.·´¨ ¨)) -:¦:-
¸.·´ .·´¨¨))
jammer
((¸¸.·´ ..·´
-:¦:- ((¸¸

[Tsu Dho Nimh]

jammer > wrote:

>My striped dracaena is said to need distilled water. Can i boil and
>cool water and use it? This is kind of an emergency as the leaves have
>to be cut off now as it is. I want to repot it but have no water. Can
>i boil and cool water and use that?

No ... that is just boiled tap water.

but who the heck told you it needs DISTILLED water?


Tsu

--
To doubt everything or to believe everything
are two equally convenient solutions; both
dispense with the necessity of reflection.
- Jules Henri Poincaré

[Iris Cohen]

<< My striped dracaena is said to need distilled water. >>

I don't know why, unless you live in an area where the tap water is so
atrocious that you are drinking bottled water. Dracaenas are tough plants.

<< Can i boil and cool water and use it? >>

This would be exactly the opposite of distilled water. You would have more
dissolved salts, not less.

<< This is kind of an emergency as the leaves have to be cut off now as it is.
>>

Why are you cutting off the leaves? If they are turning brown at the tips, the
cause may be something besides water quality.

Iris,
Central NY, Zone 5a, Sunset Zone 40
"If we see light at the end of the tunnel, It's the light of the oncoming
train."
Robert Lowell (1917-1977)

[Phisherman]

On Mon, 03 Mar 2003 23:19:34 -0600, jammer > wrote:

>My striped dracaena is said to need distilled water. Can i boil and
>cool water and use it? This is kind of an emergency as the leaves have
>to be cut off now as it is. I want to repot it but have no water. Can
>i boil and cool water and use that?
>I thank you.
> ·.·´¨ ¨)) -:¦:-
> ¸.·´ .·´¨¨))
> jammer
> ((¸¸.·´ ..·´
> -:¦:- ((¸¸
>
>

No. Boiling removes dissolved gases in water but does not remove
salts. Your dracanea would benefit from old aquarium water or rain
water. Dracaenas like humidity, bright light, constant (somewhat
cool) temperatures, and less water in winter.

[Cereoid+10+]

Maybe he was told that by some dude that sells distilled water?
There's big money to be made selling demineralized bottled water!!!


Tsu Dho Nimh > wrote in message
...
> jammer > wrote:
>
> >My striped dracaena is said to need distilled water. Can i boil and
> >cool water and use it? This is kind of an emergency as the leaves have
> >to be cut off now as it is. I want to repot it but have no water. Can
> >i boil and cool water and use that?
>
> No ... that is just boiled tap water.
>
> but who the heck told you it needs DISTILLED water?
>
>
> Tsu
>
> --
> To doubt everything or to believe everything
> are two equally convenient solutions; both
> dispense with the necessity of reflection.
> - Jules Henri Poincaré

[jammer]

On Tue, 04 Mar 2003 04:54:25 -0700, Tsu Dho Nimh >
wrote:

> but who the heck told you it needs DISTILLED water?
I looked up the care of this plant. It said to use distilled or rain
water.

·.·´¨ ¨)) -:¦:-
¸.·´ .·´¨¨))
jammer
((¸¸.·´ ..·´
-:¦:- ((¸¸

[jammer]

On 04 Mar 2003 14:18:16 GMT, (Iris Cohen) wrote:

>I don't know why, unless you live in an area where the tap water is so
>atrocious that you are drinking bottled water. Dracaenas are tough plants.

I looked up the care of the plant and it said to use rain or distilled
water. Do you disagree?? I watered it with tap water and it went down
hill fast. And yes, my water is atrocious and i use bottled water:)
>
><< Can i boil and cool water and use it? >>
>
>This would be exactly the opposite of distilled water. You would have more
>dissolved salts, not less.
>
><< This is kind of an emergency as the leaves have to be cut off now as it is.
>>>
>
>Why are you cutting off the leaves? If they are turning brown at the tips, the
>cause may be something besides water quality.

Because i looked up what to do. The leaves are basically black now.
And, yes of course it could be something else. It's lighting and
locationhad been changed drastically and i read they don't like that
either.
·.·´¨ ¨)) -:¦:-
¸.·´ .·´¨¨))
jammer
((¸¸.·´ ..·´
-:¦:- ((¸¸

[Cereoid+10+]

You didn't answer the question.


You looked it up where?


jammer > wrote in message
...
> On Tue, 04 Mar 2003 04:54:25 -0700, Tsu Dho Nimh >
> wrote:
>
> > but who the heck told you it needs DISTILLED water?
> I looked up the care of this plant. It said to use distilled or rain
> water.
>
> ·.·´¨ ¨)) -:¦:-
> ¸.·´ .·´¨¨))
> jammer
> ((¸¸.·´ ..·´
> -:¦:- ((¸¸
>
>

[Lar]

In article >,
says...
:) My striped dracaena is said to need distilled water. Can i boil and
:) cool water and use it? This is kind of an emergency as the leaves have
:) to be cut off now as it is. I want to repot it but have no water. Can
:) i boil and cool water and use that?
You probably can buy it at the grocery store in the
area where you buy "ironing" supplies.

--
Good judgment comes from experience,
and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.


Lar. (to e-mail, get rid of the BUGS!!

[Frogleg]

On Mon, 03 Mar 2003 23:19:34 -0600, jammer > wrote:

>My striped dracaena is said to need distilled water. Can i boil and
>cool water and use it? This is kind of an emergency as the leaves have
>to be cut off now as it is. I want to repot it but have no water. Can
>i boil and cool water and use that?

No, as others have pointed out. If you have an old refrigerator that
needs to be "defrosted", that frost is also essentially distilled
water -- frozen condensation.

[Snooze]

The reason that it is recommended to water potted plants with distilled or
rain water, is to prevent the buildup of salts in the pot. In some areas,
the tap water has a lot of minerals disolved in the water, such as calcium
and magnesium. Over time this builds up in the pot, and changes the pH of
the soil.

Some plants are more sensitve then others to the changes, I'm not familar
with this plant, but I'm guessing it is sensitve the soil composition.
You'll also see that many books and websites recommend changing the potting
soil every few years, for the same reason.

In nature this isn't a problem, because rain water washes away the excess
buildup of salts. But indoor plants don't really experience much of nature.

Sameer


"jammer" > wrote in message
...
> My striped dracaena is said to need distilled water. Can i boil and
> cool water and use it? This is kind of an emergency as the leaves have
> to be cut off now as it is. I want to repot it but have no water. Can
> i boil and cool water and use that?
> I thank you.
> ·.·´¨ ¨)) -:¦:-
> ¸.·´ .·´¨¨))
> jammer
> ((¸¸.·´ ..·´
> -:¦:- ((¸¸
>
>

[Zeuspaul]

Bottled water that has been processed with reverse osmosis is mineral free
unless minerals have been added back for flavor. I get RO water at the
local water store for 25 cents per gallon.

Zeuspaul

[Polar]

On Thu, 06 Mar 2003 00:38:34 GMT, Zeuspaul >
wrote:

>Bottled water that has been processed with reverse osmosis is mineral free
>unless minerals have been added back for flavor. I get RO water at the
>local water store for 25 cents per gallon.

Is this for drinking or watering gard en?

If for drinking, and you get it from a dispenser, caveat! The filters
and general cleanliness at supermarket dispensers leave much to be
desired.


>

--
Polar

[Zeuspaul]

Polar wrote:

> On Thu, 06 Mar 2003 00:38:34 GMT, Zeuspaul >
> wrote:
>
> >Bottled water that has been processed with reverse osmosis is mineral free
> >unless minerals have been added back for flavor. I get RO water at the
> >local water store for 25 cents per gallon.
>
> Is this for drinking or watering gard en?
>
> If for drinking, and you get it from a dispenser, caveat! The filters
> and general cleanliness at supermarket dispensers leave much to be
> desired.
>
> >
>
> --
> Polar

Agreed. I don't buy water from the water vending machines anymore as the
filters may not well maintained. One smelly fill and that was the end of that.

We have a lot of water stores here in SoCal with multi-stage water processing.
One still has to be careful with the water stores as some do not change their
filters at proper intervals. If I detect any odor whatsoever I don't go back.
I also make ice with the water. If the ice is not clear then I don't use the
water either. Clear ice is a good indication that the RO process is working.
Cloudy ice is an indication of gas or minerals in the water.

Zeuspaul

[Polar]

On Fri, 07 Mar 2003 00:37:56 GMT, Zeuspaul >
wrote:

>
>
>Polar wrote:
>
>> On Thu, 06 Mar 2003 00:38:34 GMT, Zeuspaul >
>> wrote:
>>
>> >Bottled water that has been processed with reverse osmosis is mineral free
>> >unless minerals have been added back for flavor. I get RO water at the
>> >local water store for 25 cents per gallon.
>>
>> Is this for drinking or watering gard en?
>>
>> If for drinking, and you get it from a dispenser, caveat! The filters
>> and general cleanliness at supermarket dispensers leave much to be
>> desired.
>>
>> >
>>
>> --
>> Polar
>
>Agreed. I don't buy water from the water vending machines anymore as the
>filters may not well maintained. One smelly fill and that was the end of that.
>
>We have a lot of water stores here in SoCal with multi-stage water processing.
>One still has to be careful with the water stores as some do not change their
>filters at proper intervals. If I detect any odor whatsoever I don't go back.
>I also make ice with the water. If the ice is not clear then I don't use the
>water either. Clear ice is a good indication that the RO process is working.
>Cloudy ice is an indication of gas or minerals in the water.

Question: Why not just filter your drinking water at home -- whether
with a free-standing, or attached filter device?

That way you can monitor the filter-changing interval.



--
Polar

[Karen Fletcher]

jammer > wrote:
: My striped dracaena is said to need distilled water. Can i boil and
: cool water and use it? This is kind of an emergency as the leaves have
: to be cut off now as it is. I want to repot it but have no water. Can
: i boil and cool water and use that?

As others pointed out, go for rainwater or distilled water. Dracaena and
others, for example, spider plants (Chlorophytum comosum), are sensitive
to salts in the soil and will show browning at the tips in response.

Using tapwater in areas where water is treated can lead to problems since
it can be fairly high in pH as well. In our area, the tapwater is at a pH
of 8.4 and that's not unusual.

I have always found that indoor plants do MUCH better on rainwater than
tapwater. In addition to being free of mineral salts, rainwater is also
naturally acidic and carries a little bonus of dissolved nitrogen.
Unpolluted rainwater is at about 5.6. Many container plants benefit from
this. Potting soil can become alkaline over a period of time from buildup
of mineral salts.

Virginia Tech has an excellent set of factsheets on houseplants:
http://www.ext.vt.edu/cgi-bin/WebObjects/Docs.woa/wa/getcat?cat=ir-ln-ig-pp

-- Karen

The Garden Gate http://garden-gate.prairienet.org
================================================== =================
"If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need."
^and cats -- Cicero
================================================== =================
On the Web since 1994 Forbes Best of Web 2002

[Zeuspaul]

Polar wrote:

> On Fri, 07 Mar 2003 00:37:56 GMT, Zeuspaul >
> wrote:
>
> >
> >
> >Polar wrote:
> >
> >> On Thu, 06 Mar 2003 00:38:34 GMT, Zeuspaul >
> >> wrote:
> >>
> >> >Bottled water that has been processed with reverse osmosis is mineral free
> >> >unless minerals have been added back for flavor. I get RO water at the
> >> >local water store for 25 cents per gallon.
> >>
> >> Is this for drinking or watering gard en?
> >>
> >> If for drinking, and you get it from a dispenser, caveat! The filters
> >> and general cleanliness at supermarket dispensers leave much to be
> >> desired.
> >>
> >> >
> >>
> >> --
> >> Polar
> >
> >Agreed. I don't buy water from the water vending machines anymore as the
> >filters may not well maintained. One smelly fill and that was the end of that.
> >
> >We have a lot of water stores here in SoCal with multi-stage water processing.
> >One still has to be careful with the water stores as some do not change their
> >filters at proper intervals. If I detect any odor whatsoever I don't go back.
> >I also make ice with the water. If the ice is not clear then I don't use the
> >water either. Clear ice is a good indication that the RO process is working.
> >Cloudy ice is an indication of gas or minerals in the water.
>
> Question: Why not just filter your drinking water at home -- whether
> with a free-standing, or attached filter device?
>
> That way you can monitor the filter-changing interval.
>
> --
> Polar

I used to filter my own water. However I believe the water store can do a better
job. They use a dual pass RO process. They also use UV to sterilize. I believe
they use about seven filters. If I were to try and duplicate their process it would
take up a lot of real estate in my garage not to mention the maintenance.

I wouldn't save very much either as RO filters have to be replaced as well as the
other filters. 25 cents a gallon for properly filtered water is a good price. I
use a store on the way to work so it is also convenient.

If there were not a quality water store near by at a reasonable price I would filter
my own.

Regards

Zeuspaul