Tap water for munstead lavender (angustifolia)

[P A U L]

I bought a few potted lavenders (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0058U9EG8) and was wondering if filtered tap water is ok for it?

i have a tap that goes through a filter for drinking water...is this water ok for the lavender? i also have distilled water that i only use for my carnivorous plants. i wanted to know which water was best.

trying to find info on lavender through google leads to oils and tea...very unhelpful lol. i'm growing these to hopefully repel mosquitoes flying through the small cracks between the window and mesh.

 

[DirtMechanic]

So I have an interest in your question because of the water side and I have no real knowledge of your particular plants.

I find most tap water to be ph neutral, targeted and treated to be electrically (ph) neutral so it does not destroy the pipes used to send it about or render the chlorine decontaminant useless. Makes some sense from a mechanical viewpoint. But most people would say let tapwater sit a day and lose its chlorine to the air. Then it should be great for lavender, which likes 6.5 to 7.5 ph from what I read.

The flytraps are weirdly interesting. They certainly support the argument for high protein based organic fertilizer! A lot of people say to use a lot of peat which has a really acid ph like 4, but others are finding coir to work better, at a 5-6ph. I guess that could be construed to be reaffirmation that nutrients are more readily available in the moderately acid range, which is a good thing, because when I test the water I distill from the air in my dehumidifier tank, I read a ph of 6. I have not tested the charcoal filtered water from my refridgerator, (needs a filter but I keep forgetting to buy one) but it is my understanding it should read mildly acidic. This is probably due to the removal of those various things in the water that would bind the hydrogen in the water. I say this because it is my current understanding that ph is a measure of hydrogen and hydroxyl activity, and as such, the more pure the water, the more of that H activity one might be able to measure and the result would be a lower ph measurement. This is about as far as my single cell brain has allowed me to go into the chemistry side of water, other than flapping about in it with flotation noodles.


I enjoyed reading this publication. Perhaps you will also.
https://water.usgs.gov/edu/ph.html

 

[alp]

It should be OK if you leave it out for a few hours. Plants, believe it or not, want to live, and they will adapt themselves to whatever throwing at them.

 

[Marck]

The main issue with water and plant health seems to be hardness. Some plant such as carnivorous plants do react poorly to hard water.

I suspect the municipal tap water of the OP is soft and treated to be slightly alkaline.
My tap water is soft and is usually near pH 8.
In summer, I irrigate all kinds of plants with it, including carnivorous plants (and Lavandula) and I have not had any issues.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

I grow lots of lavender, but I wonder if you have it inside or outside on the window sill? It is pretty warm where you are compared to me, but, and probably doesn't rain as much, but I find that in a half decent size pot it can survive most things outdoors. I also wonder if you have considered other things? I would be tempted to try mint. It grows fast, insects don't like it on the whole, and it can be useful in the kitchen. Rosemary also might be worth a try, not so quick growing, but nice flowers at a good time of year.
Maybe get some extra windows put in

 

[Marck]

trying to find info on lavender through google leads to oils and tea...very unhelpful lol. i'm growing these to hopefully repel mosquitoes flying through the small cracks between the window and mesh.

Actually, if the primary intention for growing Lavender (Lavandula) or other herbs is to use them as mosquito repellent, the extracted essential oils would likely be more helpful products than the plants themselves. Many fragrant essential oils have been used as insect repellents, with various degrees of success, but in most cases, the oils must be applied to the skin or other affected surface, or else diffused into the air by a diffuser, atomizer, candle, or incense. The small amount of oil that escapes from undamaged plant tissue into the air is unlikely to keep a mosquito from entering a space where the scent and reward of a blood meal is also present.

Among essential oils, Citronella oil has a particularly good track record as an insect repellent.