Should I water my plant with the hard tap water or filtered water?

Question

I live in an area with very hard (mineral-dense) tap water. The minerals make the water taste bad enough that everyone uses a brita filter for their water, and I feel that it might be better for my house plants if I use the same filtered water that I drink to water the plant.

I realize that nutritionally, plants need a certain amount of minerals in their soil to thrive, which are normally replenished in nature by the movement of sediment and soil when it rains.

So would it be better for my plant if I watered it with the hard tap water which may harm the plant with the mineral-dense water, or water it with the filtered water, which may leave it without its essential nutrients.

Answer 1

For a jade plant, definitely filter the water.  The plant is a succulent and will have certain nutritional requirements, but it's highly unlikely that your water will have that exact make up and nothing else that would be detrimental to the plant.  Better to start with a clean slate and add what the plant needs!

By the way, if it's a weeping jade, fertilizing it will make it "weep" more and it will look really cool (weeping jades tend to put out longer branches and look really nice on stands).

Answer 2

Find out what kind of plant it is, and look it up on a search engine.  Some plants prefer hard water, some like soft water.

Or, take it to a nursery and let them tell you what the requirements are.

Answer 3

Hi Tom,

Hard water is usually defined as containing calcium ions and magnesium ions, neither of which would be harmful to your plant through normal watering.

Your greatest fear is over watering and over fertilizing a Jade Plant... see the information below regarding the Jade Plant.

I hope that this is of some help to you.

Hiking Tony