re: Chloramine ??????

At 13:12 05/18/2000 +0100, David Field wrote:
>Check out the following web site for information on chloromines in water.
>
>www.cleanh20.com/chlorami.html
>
>The last question on this FAQ page is 'Will chloramine harm plants'?  The
>answer is a definate NO.
>
>IMO, Karl's problems with his plants are simply that they are not adapted to
>cope with hard water.  The use of peat or soft water resins should solve the
>problem.
>
>David Field
>London UK.
>


Thanks to all for the various responses. 

As to the 'definate NO', my father always taught me (though
he now claims it must have been my high school science teacher)
"Don't believe anything you hear and only half of what see."
To which I would add "and believe the opposite of anything you
read on the internet."  [and in e-mail  <8)    ???]

It just seems unlikely that material that causes obvious
inflamation in humans and which can kill all mannner of
microbes, algae and parasites just so happens to be completely
harmless to all plants of any horticultural interest;
especially those many vascular plants
which depend on symbiotic bacteria or mycorrhizal fungi.

It seems that some
actual experimentation is in order ( I was a chemist by
training, so that shouldn't be too difficult).

Our water service in San Jose is not all that hard, with
little or no mineral deposition around our faucets. In fact,
at our other property in Sunnyvale, California, 
UC/Sunset Zone 15/17 border, USDA Zone 9, 
where I was able to grow Gardenia jasminoides, the water,
which is disinfected with chlorine not chloramine,
alternated between well water which was quite hard
and water imported from the Sierra Nevada mountains which was
fairly soft. We do experience some mineral depostion around
fixtures at that property.

Furthermore, the Gardenias which croaked were planted in 
straight peat moss, which worked in Sunnyvale on heavy clay
with gardenias and especially well with Dicksonia. Also I've got
no trouble with quite a few other plants which probably don't like hard water:
various Rhododendron species and Persea americana at the
edge of the lawn, Arbutus menziesii on a bank, Camellia japonica
are doing fine and various Protea
and Hakea seedlings are doing o.k. so far.


I've got two 1 year old Meconopsis betonicifolia which
I've been watering with distilled water, I think I can try
a controlled study and report back in a few months.

Karl Hoover
Berryessa Foothills
San Jose California
UC/Sunset Zone 16, USDA Zone 9
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