Water for camelia/ponds

[sweetcorn]

I've heard that it's necessary to use rainwater for potted camelias and to top up ponds, but my water butts are now empty! Can you fill water butts with tap water and leave them for a certain amount of time and then is it alright to use for ponds/camelias? My camelia is getting quite dry and the pond is shrinking by the day!

[Alison]

With regards the camellia, you can still water it with tap water if it really needs it but add some ericacious feed, particularly if they are in pots. If they're in the border then it's not so urgent, mine is pretty well established and the roots must be deeper so it's OK.

The pond is a different one, I'm not bothering to top up the wildlife pond on the lottie as it as a very shallow side which will let frogs etc get out even with a lower top water level and there aren't any fish so it's not really necessary. However, if you have fish etc and need to keep it topped up then I'd be inclined to stand the water in containers for a couple of days and then gradually top up.

[tamsin]

We top up our pond with the hose - it's a big pond. Just a bit as it needs. If you've got a lot to top up/small pond you could do it a bit a day over several days. I don't think water the camellia once with tap water would do more damage than no water at all.

[rana]

Depends on your tap water. In hard water areas there are a lot of minerals in the water which are not good for acid loving plants such as Camellias. the water company also puts in stuff called chloramines as an antibacterial agent. This is very bad for fish and other pond life. Fortunately chloramines will gas off over time and occasional watering of Camellias with hard water will do no harm. As Alison says, the best option is to let the water stand for a few days before use.

[Two_Sheds]

Not all camellias are totally ericaceous. The common pink one is definitely OK with tap water (we have very hard water here & I've been trying to kill my pink camellia without success).

I can't grow azaleas or rhodos though